Sisolak’s policies drive up energy costs

Democrats are in quite a fix these days, aren’t they?

On the one hand, the intended (and entirely predictable) consequences of their energy policies have come to pass, as governmentally imposed limits on access to affordable energy sources have resulted in vastly higher prices being paid by consumers.

On the other hand, those consumers — re: voters — aren’t too thrilled about the resulting financial strife they’re experiencing. And as they continue to pay higher prices at the pump, they seem determined to ensure Democrats pay a high price at the polls.

In a sense, then, Democrats today are victims of their own policy successes. And as they now flail about, offering gimmicky proposals to address the high energy costs they themselves have helped to usher in, they’ve also made it clear that their concerns over their own political fortunes greatly outweigh their professed angst over the state of the earth’s environment.

While much of the attention lately has been focused on national policy — and not without good reason, given the Biden administration’s non-stop assaults on America’s energy producers — it’s worth looking at the role that Nevada’s own state-level Democrats are playing in exacerbating this crisis as well.

In a recent column for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Victor Joecks does just that, and he makes particular note of the ill-conceived energy policies that have been pursued by Governor Steve Sisolak.

As Joecks reminds us:

“In 2019, Gov. Steve Sisolak joined the state-equivalent of the Paris agreement. He signed a bill establishing a goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.

“That bill required a report detailing options to reduce emissions. Here are some suggestions the report offered for transportation: Require all light-duty vehicles to be electric by 2035, reduce vehicle miles traveled through strategies such as ‘increasing fuel taxes’ and require HOV lanes, ‘rather than general purpose lanes, for any proposed highway expansion.’

“Under Sisolak, Nevada’s transportation plan is to create higher vehicle prices, higher gasoline prices and more traffic congestion.”

We wouldn’t be shocked if Sisolak — who’s up for re-election himself this November — starts to trot out some energy-policy gimmicks of his own in the coming months to try to placate angry voters.

If he does, Nevadans would be wise not to fall for it. Democrats deserve a strong rebuke for the damage they’ve caused, in the realm of energy costs, but elsewhere, too. And that includes the Democrats currently running our Silver State.

Morning morsels …

FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

Campaign filing update – Secretary of State’s office (Nevada Secretary of State): Access information on which candidates have officially filed for office in Nevada’s 2022 elections with the Secretary of State’s office. Read more >

Campaign filing update – Clark County (Clark County Election Department): Access information on which candidates have officially filed for office in Nevada’s 2022 elections with the Clark County Election Department. Read more >

Campaign filing update – Washoe County (Washoe County Registrar of Voters): Access information on which candidates have officially filed for office in Nevada’s 2022 elections with the Washoe County Registrar of Voters. Read more >

TAXES AND THE CONSTITUTION

Cegavske will appeal ruling on withdrawal of tax-hike initiatives (Bill Dentzer, Las Vegas Review-Journal): The secretary of state will appeal a ruling ordering the withdrawal of two tax-hiking initiatives that the Clark County teachers put on this year’s ballot but then sought to remove after their union successfully pressed the Legislature for more education funding last session. Read more >

ENERGY

How Joe Biden’s Policies Made This Energy Crisis (Bill Hagerty, National Review): President Biden has found a new scapegoat for continuously increasing gas prices. Last Tuesday, when asked what his administration can do about record-high gas prices, the president replied: “Can’t do much right now. Russia is responsible.” This flippant response is both demonstrably inaccurate and an insult to the working Americans whose paychecks have been increasingly depleted every week since the Biden administration took office. The truth is that the Biden administration has spent 14 months waging a war against American energy production, and we are now seeing the consequences. Read more >

Pahrump sees all-time high gas prices (Mick Akers, Pahrump Valley Times): The price of gasoline in Pahrump continues rising ever upward, setting record after record over the past week — including a new all-time high on Thursday. Gas prices in Pahrump jumped to an average of $4.68 for a gallon of regular unleaded gas, marking the seventh consecutive day a new high mark was set, according to AAA. Read more >

EDUCATION

Against 'Don't Say Gay' Propaganda (Max Eden, Newsweek): The corporate media coverage of Florida's Parental Rights in Education bill provides the most important "teachable moment" of the decade for American parents. Part of the lesson can be learned from the fact that many parents haven't heard of a Florida bill by the name of "Parental Rights in Education." But parents who follow the national news — or tune into "Saturday Night Live" — have heard of this bill by a different name: The "Don't Say Gay" bill. This fake-naming was an unprecedented propaganda ploy.  Read more >

CULTURE AND THE COURTS

Clarence Thomas blasts court-packing and cancel culture at conservative event (Kaelan Deese, Washington Examiner): Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas sharply criticized trends such as "cancel culture" and blasted liberal ideals such as "packing" the high court in remarks on Friday. Thomas, the longest-serving justice on the nine-member court and one of six on the bench appointed by Republican presidents, said that calls for the Supreme Court's expansion would leave it "compromised."  Read more >
 

NOTABLE QUOTE

“I wish the dollar store sold gas.” ― Origin unknown