The American Spectator

p>Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J br> Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska br> — Elaine Kyle /p>

The President and Republicans in Congress should suspend all federal gas taxes until at least Labor Day, but preferably for six months. To “pay” for this tax cut they should transfer funds from the bloated budget of the Department of Energy that does absolutely nothing to produce gas or energy. Couple this with releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, demanding Congress allow drilling in ANWR, relax regulations for the building of more refineries and building nuclear breeder reactors Republicans have a winning “bread and butter” issue in this November’s elections.

My wife and I have been writing and faxing letters to Karl Rove, Josh Bolten, and Republicans in Congress calling for such a moratorium since last week. Instead of just complaining we’re being proactive something all conservatives need to do to stymie the Democrat Copperheads in November.

p>If you are one of the so-called conservatives whimsically hearkening back to the “good old days” of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton or believe things will get better with a Democrat Congress you need a dose of reality. Here are the facts about Democrats and gas prices — Jimmy Carter, benefactor of Islamic terrorism, manufactured an energy crisis that led to increased gas prices and shortages, in 1993 Bill Clinton was the last President to raise Federal gas taxes, John Kerry called for a 50-cent increase in the gas tax, Democrat media hack Thomas Friedman wants oil to sell for $100 a barrel and CNN’s lefty Miles O’Brien is encouraging an increase in the federal gas tax while bashing the President and Republicans for rising gas prices. Always remember Democrat = a tax increase. br> — Michael Tomlinson br> Crownsville, Maryland /p>

For me, arguing about the role of the gas tax in high gas prices is the wrong approach. OK, 15 percent of gas tax goes into mass transit. What is so wrong about getting people off the road so that people who want to drive have the highways more to themselves? And fully 85 percent of the gas tax is going into roads. Highway pork? That is the whole point of the gas tax and the highway trust fund — to build more roads to relieve congestion, develop new areas, and so on.

p>The real issues are how a refinery can’t ever get built anymore and the crazy-quilt system of special gasolines and now the new ethanol boondoggle. I never understood this oxygenated fuels business when the savings in pollution are tiny compared to what is achieved by the pollution controls of new vehicles. A modern car makes less smog than a lawnmower — do you suppose motorists have to put up with oxy fuels because of all of those lawnmowers out there? And do you suppose the blockage of drilling in Alaska might affect futures prices for oil? br> —