If Congressional Republicans allow Nancy Pelosi and her Democrats to skirt responsibility for rising gas prices, they will once again earn the time-honored mantle of “The Stupid Party.”  Two years ago this week, Nancy Pelosi – as part of a concerted campaign of opportunistic mendacity – said she and her party had a “commonsense plan to help bring down skyrocketing gas prices.”   Their "plan" conveniently came to fruition after Democrats voted against a comprehensive energy plan that would increase fuel production and open up untapped oil reserves.

            Democrats won control of Congress partly because of such promises.  The day she took over as speaker, the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $2.33.  Today, it’s $3.60.  This $1.27 “Pelosi Premium” is the single most pernicious factor behind the struggling economy in general and middle class anxiety.  Recent polls demonstrate rising gas prices are the most important economic issue facing Americans today.  And here’s the thing: it’s all their fault.

            The spiraling cost of energy in the United States today is not one of those things that is nobody’s fault, nor is it a matter of shared responsibility.  The fault is absolutely, completely at the doorstep of the Democrat Party.  Their Kool-Aid-cult attachment to environmental extremism, their ideological hostility to free markets and free trade, their barking threats of tax hikes on American energy production, their weak and indecisive foreign policy toward the Middle East, and their limousine-liberal NIMBY hypocrisy are not present on both sides of the aisle. 

            To date, the only thing Nancy Pelosi’s Democrats have tried to do on energy is raise taxes.  The tax hike they passed in the House not only targets American energy companies, it specifically exempts foreign oil companies.  So, foreign energy companies, many of them subsidized by regimes hostile to the United States, would enjoy a reverse subsidy benefit from the Democrat Congress.  Is that really their “commonsense plan”? 

            Nobody knows.  All we know, for sure, is what the plan is not.  The Democrats’ plan to lower gas prices cannot include opening up the billions of gallons of oil underneath the Gulf of Mexico or Alaska because… well, because the Democrats apparently care more about caribou, fish, and even the views from their vacation homes than energy independence.  There is enough accessible oil in the United States to fuel 60 million cars for 60 years, and the Democrats will not allow it to be drilled. 

            This week, truckers rallied in Washington, D.C. to protest the failure of Congress to do anything about gas prices.  They were mad; they should be.  They should be furious at the arrogant refusal of Nancy Pelosi’s Democrats to lift a finger to lower gas prices.  They won’t allow increased production, they won’t allow the creation of new nuclear power plants, they refuse to reform our ethanol subsidy programs, which are not only driving up the cost and driving down the efficiency of our gasoline, but are now helping to starve the third world.

            If we wanted to, we could lower the price of fuel in a month – by opening up our oil reserves to exploration, by encouraging the development of next-generation nuclear power plants, and by removing government mandated manipulation of the energy market.  But Democrats oppose all of these measures for reasons ranging from partisan cynicism to ideological fanaticism.  But they maintain they have a “commonsense plan.”  Well, what is it?

            Voters have a right to know what exactly Mrs. Pelosi’s “commonsense plan” entails.  Her number is 202-225-0100.  Call your Congressman and Senator, ask the Democrats what their plan is to reduce the price of gasoline.  If they don’t give you a straight answer, if they don’t renounce tax hikes, if they don’t support increased domestic production, and if they feed you some nonsense about “biofuels,” you’ll know all you’ll need to.

            Energy prices are bankrupting the middle class, and the Democrats in Congress are doing nothing about it.  The real question now is: will conservatives do something about that?

    Is there a more inspiring movie than Rocky?  Everyone knows and loves the story of the underdog boxer seizing his once-in-a-lifetime chance to fight for the world heavyweight championship.  This year’s Democrat presidential primary is turning out just like the first bout between Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed.  It’s a grueling match in which neither fighter gives an inch, nor can he can knock the other out.  Remember, Rocky lost that match, yet went on to become a great champion in sequels, while Apollo kept his belt but never won another fight. 

    The question conservatives should be asking is this: will the Democrats’ grueling, 15-round presidential primary produce a washed up champion or a colossus?  Many conservatives are giddy about the bloodletting now between Senators Obama and Clinton, excited about poll numbers giving John McCain a fighting chance to beat them in November.  The conventional wisdom is that this long, drawn-out fight will weaken the eventual nominee.  I’m not so sure.  It seems to me that as much fun as we’re all having watching Clinton and Obama gut-shoot each other across the country all spring, there are more important things to do.  Two, to be specific.

    First of all, conservatives need to remember everything Clinton and Obama have said since their grudge match turned ugly about three months ago.  When the dust settles and one of them emerges as the Democrat nominee, we cannot allow them a honeymoon period to sweep all the ugliness of primary season under the rug.  Barack Obama’s minister is an anti-American bigot, and Obama refused to condemn the man’s ministry of hate or apologize for generously funding it.  Hillary Clinton is an unrepentant liar – the Bosnian sniper scandal only the latest example – whose inability to manage her campaign, her staff, and her sociopath husband should give pause to anyone who thinks there’s no difference between the choices this November. 

    Opinion sites like this one, as well as other conservative blogs, the Republican National Committee, and even Democrat researchers are going to be valuable resources for cataloguing all the misinformation and media spin that will follow the Democrats’ nominating convention.  When the general election campaign begins in earnest and Clinton or Obama try to reframe their image for the American people, conservatives need to be armed with – and motivated by – the ugly truth.   

    Second, conservatives need to rally around the most conservative candidate remaining in the presidential contest, John McCain.  My differences with Senator McCain are many and well known, but the fact of the matter is that he cannot defeat Clinton or Obama with conservatives grumbling on the sidelines.  We cannot sit back and hope or expect Democrats to lose this election – we have to go out and win it.

    We cannot know whether the Democrats’ slug-fest will leave their nominee bloodied and bruised, or if he’ll have a knock-out punch with John McCain’s name on it, but we do know this – whoever the nominee is, he’s going to have one helluva tough jaw.

    Pinning down Congressional Democrats’ positions on taxes is kind like trying to castrate a waking bull… and about as practical.  They simply won’t give it up.  I remember once, New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan – who was about as straightforward as Washington Democrats get – was asked if Americans are taxed too much.  Moynihan answered, “Well, they’re taxed wrongly.”  Notice how the dodge, as in a champion middleweight, effortlessly flows into the counterpunch.

    Unfortunately, the current crop of Democrats in Congress aren’t Pat Moynihan – as George Will has noted, Moynihan wrote more books than most of his colleagues read.  They’re not as straightforward and not as bright.  Ask them what they want to do about taxes, and, like on most issues, the first thing they say is that they hate what President Bush did.  So, what would they do differently?  Well, they want to make the tax code fairer?  How?  By taking away loopholes for the rich.  Which ones?  The ones that working class families can’t use.  Which are they? 

    No answer.  Listening to the Democrats, you get the sense that they definitely think taxes should be higher than they are, but they’re loathe to admit which ones.  Meanwhile, as we noticed throughout the last tax debates in 2003, the only income taxes Democrats think should be lowered are the ones on people who don’t pay income taxes at all.  So, what do they really believe?

    This tax day, Americans should make a real effort to find out what the Democrats really want to do with the Internal Revenue Code.  Conservatives, especially those represented by Democrats in Congress, should be flooding their members’ offices with letters and emails and phone calls asking exactly what their Senators and Representatives want to do on taxes.  Do they believe taxes should be higher?  Which ones?  Lower?  Again, what are the specific proposals?

    Or more importantly, what about fundamental tax reform.  Since no thinking person honestly believes the current system is an efficient means of generating revenues for the government, what would your representatives do if they could rewrite the code from scratch?  A flat tax?  A national sales tax like the Fair Tax? 

    Democrats have made no secret of their mistrust of the American with our own money; the least they can do this Tax Day is tell us exactly how they want to take it.

Today is the second anniversary of my resignation announcement, and I want to put something to rest.  In nearly every newspaper article I read mentioning my decision to leave Congress, never once do they get it right.  More often than not, the article states that I was either forced or driven out of office under a cloud of scandal.  Let me make one thing clear – there was no force in it, and no real pressure to leave other than the pressure I personally felt dragging my family and the 22^nd District through a very divisive and costly race.   The decision was all my own and on my terms, and I do not regret it.   I would also like to point you to my interview with Mike Allen, who at the time was reporting for Time magazine, and my video resignation announcement, which I completed in the first take, in the dead of the night, with a lump in my throat.

Since leaving office, my life has changed drastically.  First, I lost weight, which was a nice way to transition.  I wrote a book, which I think only those who really love me or really hate me read, and I started organizing conservative activists in an effort to revitalize the movement I have been working with for 20 plus years.  I’ve been raising money to help conservatives combat the growing number of liberal groups and union-backed political activities.  I quickly started to blog at www.tomdelay.com, and then after taking a break to get CCM up and running, I transitioned over to Townhall where I feel very at home with my thoughts and opinions.  It's been a very busy and interesting time , and I hope you all will join me as we continue to fight in this new arena.

Keep the Faith,

Tom DeLay