Politics Start Emerging After Biden Bans Russian Oil
Republicans appear to try setting up the president for political blame in time for midterm elections
There was much bipartisan cheering Tuesday after President Biden made his bombshell announcement banning further imports of Russian oil and other energy commodities which, as Biden said in his announcement at the White House targets “the main artery of Russia’s economy.”
The move is one of the strongest yet in response to Russian leader Vladimir Putin's ongoing and lawless invasion of Ukraine.
The UK government quickly followed on Biden's heels and made a similar declaration.
Despite the support Biden immediately saw in the wake of his decision, many political analysts and others are saying that Republicans are only offering their support in the short-term, in a cynical ploy to see fuel prices soar this year and therefore reap a political windfall at the midterm elections in November.
In his remarks Tuesday, Biden called his decision a “powerful blow to Putin’s war machine.”
“Americans have rallied support — have rallied to support the Ukrainian people and made it clear we will not be part of subsidizing Putin’s war,” Biden said. “We made this decision in close consultation with our Allies and our partners around the world, particularly in Europe, because a united response to Putin’s aggression has been my overriding focus, to keep all NATO and all of the [European Union] and our allies totally united.
“We’re moving forward on this ban, understanding that many of our European Allies and partners may not be in a position to join us,” the president conceded.
Biden also made a point of saying that oil companies should not use this decision as an opportunity to gouge American consumers on fuel prices.
It's a point others on the left echoed, including Democratic activist and daughter of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Christine Pelosi.
“There's no moral reason to charge more at the pump when you've got profits to spare,” Christine Pelosi tweeted.
The political jockeying began almost immediately, however.
It's a phenomenon reported by Scott Wong, of NBC News, among others.
“NEW w/@sahilkapur: Republicans are cheering Biden's decision to ban Russian oil imports. But in the same breath, they're blaming @POTUS policies for record gas prices. ‘They’re responsible for this like they’re responsible for inflation' @RepTomEmmer,” Wong tweeted, quoting Emmer, a Republican congressman from Minnesota and chairman of the National Republican Campaign Committee, the arm of the Republican Party in charge of electing Republicans to the US House.
“Just absurd: Republicans are already signaling plans to attack Biden for higher gas prices resulting from a ban on Russian oil imports -- even though Republicans themselves are demanding the ban. The media needs to point out what epic baloney this is:” tweeted Washington Post columnist Greg Sargent.
In fact, Biden only took this step now on Russian energy due to political pressure, according to Julie Tsirkin, of NBC News.
“Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, especially Dem leaders, pressured Biden to act or else they would, per sources,” Tsirkin reported.
Democrats, too, see room to maneuver politically, as a result of Biden's decision.
Some 71 percent of Americans support ban on Russian oil even if it means higher gas prices and 56 percent say the steps Biden has taken so far to punish Russia for invading Ukraine are not tough enough, said Mark Holland, a Democrat running for Congress in Kansas.
Holland said that he wants to see a so-called “holiday” placed on the federal gasoline tax to take some of the sting out of the oil ban at the pump.
Rep Ro Khanna, a prominent progressive Democratic House member from California, said that he sees a new opportunity for clean, renewable energy sources as a result of the Russian ban.
“Glad @POTUS is heeding our call to ban Russian oil imports. Now we need a renewable energy moonshot to lower costs for working families and break our dependence on fossil fuels once and for all,” he tweeted.
“I would PROUDLY pay higher gas prices to STICK it to Putin,” tweeted Jon Cooper, a prominent Democratic activist and social media influencer.
Cooper also sees an opportunity to reverse a recent decision by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy — who was installed under the Trump administration — to upgrade the US Postal Service’s fleet with more gasoline-powered vehicles and go with alternative-fuel models.
“Now that President Biden has decided to BAN Russian oil imports, it’s even more critical that the U.S. Postal Service CANCEL its plans to purchase a massive new fleet of gas-guzzling mail delivery vehicles,” he tweeted.
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