Earlier this month, Michigan Democrat Sen. Debbie Stabenow bragged that on her way to Washington, D.C. she drove past “every single gas station” in her brand-new electric vehicle “and it didn’t matter how high [gas] was.” Apparently, Stabenow’s message to Americans struggling to afford their commute to work and school is to buy an expensive electric vehicle. For Americans – and especially Michiganders like me – Stabenow’s comment is as unhelpful as it is condescending. But Stabenow isn’t the only Democrat embracing a “let them eat cake” attitude. Climate activists are hurting Americans with their green agenda.
The Biden administration has made EVs a pillar of its anti-U.S. energy agenda. Last year, Joe Biden set a goal that by 2030, half of the vehicles sold in the country would be EVs. More recently, Biden pledged to use taxpayer dollars to build EV charging stations across America. And just a few weeks ago, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg suggested that families anxious about rising gas prices should just buy an EV, which have an average price tag of more than $60,000. Meanwhile, in more than a dozen states and the District of Columbia, drivers are paying more than $5 for a gallon of gas. Painfully high fuel prices aren’t an accident. They’re the momentum driving Biden’s energy “transition.”
On his first day in office, Biden shut down the Keystone XL pipeline to appease the far left, killing 11,000 jobs. His administration has also floated the idea of closing Michigan’s Line 5 pipeline, which millions of Midwesterners rely on to heat their homes. But research shows pipelines are a safer method of oil transportation than the alternatives, all of which have a much higher risk of spills and leaks – something even Biden’s Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm admitted. The downsides of closing American pipelines are obvious: increased chance of oil spills, energy dependence on foreign regimes like Iran and Venezuela, and surging oil prices.
None of this matters to the Biden administration. Hours after being sworn in, Biden rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement, which economists warned would kill hundreds of thousands of jobs and force American households to spend up to 20 percent more for their electricity. They weren’t kidding. He’s reinstated burdensome Obama-era energy regulations and choked U.S. oil and gas production. And earlier this year, the White House announced plans to reimpose strict environmental standards for approving new infrastructure projects, such as studying how construction will impact climate change. All Americans, including those who can’t afford to live close to work, have long daily commutes, or are parents of young children, will be hurt by Biden’s radical environmental agenda.
Considering whom he surrounds himself with, it’s no surprise Biden is so out of touch with regular Americans. During his campaign, Biden appointed Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, an architect of the Green New Deal, as co-chair of his climate task force. Vice President Kamala Harris has praised the Green New Deal saying the “underlying principles behind it are sound and important.” Buttigieg believes “this is our chance” to implement Green New Deal-style policies at the Department of Transportation. And Biden’s EPA chief Michael Regan has vowed to put “environmental justice” at the center of the EPA’s decision-making.
Democrats like to think they’re saving the earth. But instead, they’re destroying American jobs, straining family budgets, and undermining our national security. For Democrats, $5 gas is an opportunity to satisfy environmental interest groups and advance their radical political agenda, all while feeling morally superior. Republicans, on the other hand, believe in the importance of being good stewards of our natural resources and championing policies that actually preserve the environment – without suffocating Americans.
Ronna McDaniel is the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee. This piece originally ran at RealClearPolitics.
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