Most Americans See Through Gas Tax Scam

Well, what do you know?  By a 49-45 score, Americans seem to know that the gas tax scam is a bad idea!  Let's hope that Obama can use this as an opportunity to educate the public about the issue and make it easier to do the right things on energy policy in the future. Big Y has a poll with even better numbers. 

A college friend-of-friends has put up a neat "Gas Tax Scam" site that includes Nigerian scam email parody.  Good stuff.  There is, of course, also a facebook group. 

Comments

[Ari]

I wish I cared more what "Americans" think of the idea. But I'm a bit too cyncial to be that broad-minded. So, is there a poll that can tell me what "Democrats" think of this wretched notion? And, while we're at it, how about a poll that tells me about what Democrats in Indiana and North Carolina think of the idea. Still, I suppose it's heartening that people recognize a giveaway to Big Oil when they see one.

[Nicholas Beaudrot]

I'm not so sure about this. The coverage of this seems to have been near-universally of the variety "the Clinton campaign has jumped the shark. No one thinks it will work". And yet, almost half of America thinks it's a good idea.

I mean, it's an improvement from the past, but it would be nice to get it up over 60%.

[Neil the Ethical Werewolf]

If that's really the way it's working, Nicholas, it's still pretty awesome to see the media cover something properly.

Above 60% would be nice, I agree, and maybe a polling advantage for the good guys will embolden them to push harder on this issue. Given that this was an issue where we feared that the side of ignorance was leading one week ago, I think we haven't yet seen what a serious debate would do.

[Christopher Colaninno]

"I mean, it's an improvement from the past, but it would be nice to get it up over 60%."

I suppose it would be nice to see that, but I really don't know that it's realistic to expect this issue to make large in roads with 40% of the population that will vote for any Republican. I mean half those people would support any position that they could identify as a Republican proposal.

I'd say 60% is around the ceiling for what you can expect in terms of society being aware this is a scam.

[weboy]

It sort of fascinates how this has gotten under the skin of "intellectual" progressives; at best, a "gas tax holiday" would provide minor relief, and three months of lost gas tax reveues, while not small, is also not the end of the world... yet people act as if every measure of reasoned decency is destroyed because Hillary Clinton says "John McCain's idea is dumb, but we could, maybe make it work if we also taxed the oil companies for extra profits." It struck me then, and still strikes me as stupid brilliant - making McCain look unconcerned about funds for highway repairs and making Obama look like he doesn't favor relief for working people, in a form that's instantly comprehensible. Yeah it's a bit pandering, and it will probably never pass... but tell me again, if the idea's so terrible, how is its failure to ever pass a bad thing, too? So yeah, I guess the poll response... proves something; but call me cautiously optimistic that what we're going to discover at the end of the day tomorrow is that Clinton made it work for her in Indiana.. and in North Carolina. Ad that "intellectual types" have managed to talk themselves in circles agreeing amongst themselves that everyone can see how crazy stupid this is. No one, ever, wins overestimating the American public.

[ikl]

It is going to be hard to do much about global warming while Americans believe that they have a God-given right to cheap gas. That is why pandering on this issue is particularly offensive.

[Sir Charles]

Weboy,

C'mon now you're better than that. How about if we just propose printin' up a whole mess o' money and givin' it to the people? (I'm getting deep into populist mode right now.) That would surely be popular too and would make those pointy headed economists' heads spin.

Pandering to people that we can assure them cheap gas is simply terrible public policy and cynical to boot. There really has to be some limits to what we are willing to do to win elections. Educating people and expecting something of the voters might be a good place to help change the political dynamics in this country -- and this seems like a golden moment to do a bit of that.

[Shoez]

your link is broken

[Neil the Ethical Werewolf]

Thanks, fixed