Jeff Bingaman Is the Only Politician Speaking Truth About Gas Prices

Gasoline prices have everything to do with the international price of crude oil, and pretty much nothing to do with with our domestic policy. (We have only 2 percent of the world's total reserves.) That doesn't stop plenty of politicians and other know-nothings from crowing on about how Democrats and U.S. environmentalists are to blame for the current high (relatively) gasoline prices. Except Jeff Bingaman, the Democratic Senator from New Mexico, who delivered some honest-to-goodness truth about oil supply and demand in a speech last week.

But what can Congress do to help ease the burden of high prices for U.S. consumers, when oil prices are determined mostly outside our borders? I think a realistic, responsible answer has to be focused on becoming less vulnerable to oil price changes over the medium- and long-term. And we become less vulnerable by using less oil.

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Dave Roberts has a great comprehensive post about Bingaman's talk—and perpetually feckless messaging from the Democrats, and why it really is a lie that we can "drill our way" to lower gas prices"—over at Grist, and you should absolutely read the whole thing.

Too bad we're losing Bingaman at the end of the session. Congress is depressingly short on truth-tellers.