Angry about gas prices? Before casting a protest vote for spite, consider the energy record of Democrats who promised to phase out the fuels your car needs. And they will fight to do it again if given power.
When you pull into a gas station and see a price above $4 a gallon, your frustration is understandable. For a family already struggling with groceries, housing, and insurance, another expensive fill-up can mean something else has to wait.
But if your response is to vote for Democrats because gasoline has become more expensive during the Iran conflict, there is a serious question you should answer first.
Why would you put more power in the hands of politicians who have openly promised to eliminate the fuels your car needs?
Before November, that record deserves another look. Seriously.
The economic strain is real. The Energy Information Administration reports that constrained Middle Eastern oil exports have contributed to higher global crude prices. Since crude oil is a major driver of gasoline prices, disruptions overseas can reach American pumps even when America produces substantial amounts of its own oil. Domestic production strengthens our position, but it does not completely insulate us from the world market.
VISIT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNELVoters have every right to scrutinize President Trump’s handling of the conflict and its economic consequences. Republicans should have to explain their decisions. They should let the American people know that the choice was a temporary rise in gas prices at the pump, or the threat of being nuked by a totalitarian regime that started a war with the US 47 years ago and has threatened to use nuclear weapons against us ever since.
Democrats should have to explain their energy record, too.
Joe Biden gave Americans a remarkably clear statement of his intentions during the 2019 campaign: “I guarantee you, we’re going to end fossil fuel.” That promise was recorded at a campaign appearance in New Hampshire. Republicans did not invent it.
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Consider what that message means to someone deciding whether to invest billions of dollars in energy infrastructure. A refinery requires years of planning and enormous capital. A pipeline needs a dependable regulatory process. Investors expect projects to operate long enough to recover their costs.
A government promising to phase out the industry adds political risk to those decisions. My concern is that discouraging tomorrow’s investment leaves consumers with fewer options when the next supply crisis arrives.
Biden’s actions gave that concern substance. And it hurt America.
On January 20, 2021, his first day in office, Biden signed Executive Order 13990 and revoked the presidential permit for Keystone XL. The order also imposed a temporary moratorium on activities associated with the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain leasing program pending review.
Keystone XL was a proposed addition to the pipeline system, so canceling it did not shut off an operating pipeline or instantly remove gasoline from American stations. Its significance was the rejection of future infrastructure intended to move additional Canadian crude into the American market.
Biden’s order explicitly connected that rejection to international climate policy. It argued that approving the project would undermine American climate leadership and weaken Washington’s ability to urge ambitious climate action abroad.
The remarkable thing is that the Left championed Biden’s move, claiming that he stopped a potential catastrophic oil spill that would damage the environment. But the exact opposite was true. Like it or not, the oil was going to be delivered either way. With oil going through a pipeline, it was fast, efficient, and safe. After Biden shut down Keystone XL, the oil now has to be brought in by truck and/or train, which created a much bigger chance of potential catastrophic incidents than a pipeline.
Liberals applauded Biden’s decision because their hostility toward so-called “Big Oil” overshadowed concerns about how safely that oil would reach and travel through the United States.
That was a political choice about America’s energy future. Voters are entitled to question whether sacrificing that infrastructure served their interests.
The restrictions continued.
In January 2024, the Biden administration paused pending decisions on liquefied natural gas export applications to countries without a qualifying free trade agreement. Existing authorized exports continued, but proposed projects faced another period of uncertainty while the administration reviewed economic and environmental considerations.
Then, in January 2025, Biden withdrew more than 625 million acres of offshore waters from future oil and gas leasing. His administration defended the decision as protection for coastal communities and marine ecosystems. Whatever voters think of that justification, the action restricted future access to energy resources.
Those decisions should matter to anyone whose principal concern is affordable energy.
Oil is the lifeblood of much of our economy. Diesel powers the trucks that bring food to your local supermarket. And yet liberals are right now cheering on Ukraine for bombing Russia’s diesel processing plants, causing the price of diesel fuel to go up. The extra cost for diesel fuel is passed on to consumers. Many political analysts are saying that they believe the diesel plants are being attacked to interfere with our midterm elections so that they can blame President Trump for the rising cost of fuel.
Farmers need fuel to operate equipment. Businesses depend on transportation to receive supplies and deliver products.
Higher energy costs work their way through those activities until they reach your household budget.
Environmental protection deserves serious attention. But a responsible energy policy must also account for the people who need affordable transportation today and the businesses that keep the country functioning. Treating fossil fuels as an industry Washington should eventually eliminate risks sacrificing those practical needs to a political timetable.
To be accurate, Biden did not destroy American oil production. The United States produced a record 13.2 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2024. That fact belongs in this discussion.
However, a national production record does not make every restriction harmless. It does not tell us how much additional infrastructure might have been built under a more supportive policy. Nor does it erase the uncertainty created when political leaders promise an industry’s eventual disappearance.
The Republican case should rest on that distinction.
So, you have the Republicans who, outside of current gas prices, are witnessing the beginning of an economic boom right now. You don’t hear it because fake news won’t report it. After all, it makes Trump look good.
Once the conflict with Iran ends and oil supplies stabilize, gas prices should begin to fall, with this administration’s “Drill, Baby, Drill” agenda helping ease the pressure. So why cast a protest vote for Democrats over today’s prices when their push to restrict fossil fuels and revive electric vehicle mandates could make driving more expensive? If affordable gasoline matters to you, putting them back in power makes very little sense.
If Democrats take control of either chamber of Congress, they have already signaled plans for extensive investigations into Trump. Those inquiries could consume much of the 47th president’s time and divert attention from the agenda he says will improve Americans’ lives.
Never forget what the Democrats are capable of. It wasn’t that long ago that they shut down our jobs, shut down our small businesses across the country, and forced you to wear masks and social distance. Many Democrats supported the St George Floyd riots during the Summer of Love. Democrats defunded police departments across the country, causing spikes in crime rates, and they don’t take any responsibility for the damage created by doing so.
America’s progress must not be taken for granted. Before voting to change course, consider the consequences of empowering those who advocate fundamentally restructuring this country. Proposals to expand the Supreme Court, grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants, or abolish the U.S. Senate would reach far beyond a single election. They would reshape our institutions and alter the balance of power for generations. Our country’s future deserves a decision grounded in those consequences.
The smartest move for your individual self and for our country’s future would be to stay the course and vote red, as your life depends on it, because it does.
#gasprices #energypolicy #midterms2026
