Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
As every day Americans face record gas prices and surging inflation, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg suggested they should simply shell out tens of thousands of dollars for a new car.
During a speech on March 7, Buttigieg said Americans should simply stop worrying about gas prices and buy an electric car.
“Clean transportation can bring significant cost savings for the American people, as well,” Buttigieg said. “Last month, we announced a $5 billion investment to build out a nationwide electric vehicle charging network, so that people from rural to suburban to urban communities can all benefit from the gas savings of driving an EV.”
Buttigieg says you don’t have to worry about gas prices if you buy an electric vehicle…someone should remind him how out of touch he sounds pic.twitter.com/tiJVkl7wB3
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) March 7, 2022
This is a clear attempt to use a crisis for political benefit, and it is made worse by the fact that the crisis itself was largely caused by the Biden administration.
Even before Russia invaded Ukraine, gas prices were surging because of inflation caused by Biden’s massive spending bills. After the invasion, gas prices are soaring even higher.
Some leftists have attempted to exonerate Biden by blaming the increase in gas prices on Russia. Higher prices are a small price to pay, these leftists claim, in order to sanction Russia and punish it for the invasion.
However, this argument not only ignores the fact that prices were already rising, but also ignores Biden’s own hand in making the U.S. dependent on countries like Russia for oil.
Former President Donald Trump had the country on the way to energy independence, but as soon as Biden assumed office, he took detrimental action and canceled the Keystone XL pipeline.
Biden is responsible for both inflation and America’s foreign oil dependence, and those are the two factors contributing most to rising gas prices. Any attempt from his administration to use this crisis as a means to push woke agenda items is grossly inappropriate.
Nonetheless, Buttigieg decided now would be the perfect time to pitch electric cars to Americans — and he wasn’t the only one. Vice President Kamala Harris made a similar pitch on Monday.
“Our transportation sector has reached a turning point,” Harris said. “We are all in the midst of a turning point. We have the technology to transition to a zero-emission fleet. Our administration together, all of us, is working to make that possibility a reality.”
Kamala Harris says “our transportation sector has reached a turning point” to make a “transition” on energy pic.twitter.com/4UAkYLnwDO
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 7, 2022
This strategy is obviously dishonest, but it could also be political detrimental for Democrats.
According to CNBC, the average price of an electric car was $56,437 in December 2021.
As Americans struggle to afford a tank of gas or a cart full of groceries, most of them do not have $56,000 laying around to spend on a new car.
By suggesting Americans should solve their money issues by just spending more money, Harris and Buttigieg showed just how out of touch this administration is with its constituents.
If the Biden administration truly believes this is a winning strategy, by all means, they should continue to go out and make speeches like this from now until November.
When the time comes, Democrats will learn exactly how Americans feel about them at the polls.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
