High gas prices as a voter suppression tool

[Newsjock]

Conventional wisdom has been that Bush and buddy Bandar would conspire to bring oil prices way down right before the election, so that we'd all be grateful and vote the GOP back into office out of sheer short-term gratitude. But events of recent weeks have shown that the Saudis probably don't have nearly as much power as they thought when it comes to controlling the price of oil.

So, with prices here up about 28 cents per gallon in the past three weeks, a thought occurred: Could high gas prices help the Republicans on Election Day, and could it be a deliberate campaign strategy?

The reason: Poor voters will look at the price of gas and decide between milk for the kids or another tank of gas. Some won't bother to calculate the incremental cost increase involved in going to vote -- but it doesn't take many. Indeed, as we learned in 2000, a swing of just a very few votes in key states is enough to turn the election on a dime.

"Americans can't possibly be that stupid," you say? It doesn't take many. And the GOP base isn't likely at all to switch from Bush to Kerry just because they had to pay an extra $5 to fill up their Hummer this week.

Short of outright fraud or cancelling/postponing the election, voter suppression is the GOP's only ticket to victory (as they so amply said in Michigan). The response might need to be a Democratic mobilization to vote absentee and/or drive people to the polls on Election Day.

[TheFarseer]

1. I don't think it's that high!

[brainshrub]

2. Worse case scenario, I would walk to the polls.

Remember: Republicans usually have bigger, more wasteful cars than Libs.

[Bluzmann57]

3. Put down the bong now

and back away. There is a concerted effort to get people out to the polls on Nov. 2. How do I know? I'm driving folks there myself. No offense, but I think you may be full of crap or delusional.

[Newsjock]

4. Not smokin' anything

But thanks anyway ... and my apologies if I left the impression that there wasn't already a huge get-out-the-vote effort.

I'm merely suggesting that Bush will do anything he can to get likely Democratic voters to stay home, and if you're below the poverty line, $2.50/gallon hurts a lot more than it does if you're living off your Halliburton dividends.

[gordianot]

5. May be a sign that the oil barons are not happy with *.

There have been some studies that lowered gas prices are to the advantage of the incumbent. Higher gas prices are to the advantage of the challenger.

The mess in Iraq is spiraling out of control. Why wouldn't the multi nationals prefer Kerry?

Remember Bush is only a tool, a seriously flawed tool.