{"id":1363693,"date":"2022-03-08T07:44:21","date_gmt":"2022-03-08T12:44:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1363693"},"modified":"2022-03-08T07:46:12","modified_gmt":"2022-03-08T12:46:12","slug":"washington-post-journo-blames-republicans-for-bidens-reluctance-to-ban-russian-oil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/washington-post-journo-blames-republicans-for-bidens-reluctance-to-ban-russian-oil\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington Post Journo Blames Republicans for Biden\u2019s Reluctance to Ban Russian Oil"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwashington-post-journo-blames-republicans-for-bidens-reluctance-to-ban-russian-oil%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1363693&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p>If my headline sounds a little bit like an invitation to a conspiracy theory about the Bilderbergers master plan on global energy that\u2019s because I borrowed it from Greg Sargent at the <em>Washington Post<\/em>. Sargent\u2019s actual headline for his piece is \u201c<span data-qa=\"headline-opinion-text\">The dark, unsettling truths behind Biden\u2019s reluctance to ban Russian oil.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>What are those dark, unsettling truths? Well, you\u2019ll be shocked to learn his story is about dastardly Republicans. Here\u2019s how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2022\/03\/07\/biden-oil-ban-russia-blinken-ukraine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the piece opens<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>We all know exactly what will happen if President Biden goes through with plans to ban imports of Russian oil amid mounting horrors in Ukraine, as he has been\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2022\/03\/07\/biden-administration-gets-behind-coordinated-push-cut-off-russian-oil\/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reluctant to do<\/a>. The same Republicans loudly demanding this step will turn around and attack Biden over any resulting economic fallout.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Democrats, including the ones in the White House, are very aware that rising gas prices could be another blow to their fortunes this fall. That\u2019s specifically why Biden\u2019s sanctions against Russia did not include banning Russian oil. But as Sargent correctly points out, there\u2019s a bipartisan push in congress for such a ban, including support from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2022\/03\/07\/biden-oil-ban-russia-blinken-ukraine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nancy Pelosi<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>But now the pressure from lawmakers is intensifying. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.speaker.gov\/newsroom\/3622\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">says the House might vote<\/a>\u00a0on legislation banning Russian oil imports this week. Many others\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2022-03-01\/russia-oil-cutoff-gathers-steam-in-congress-echoing-swift-push\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">in both parties<\/a> are calling for the same.<\/p>\n<p>This has put Biden in a jam. As\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/biden-caught-between-inflation-and-calls-to-ban-russian-oil-11646581830?mod=politics_lead_pos1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Wall Street Journal reports<\/a><span>, Republicans are\u00a0<\/span><i>both<\/i><span>\u00a0calling for this ban\u00a0<\/span><i>while also<\/i><span>\u00a0attacking Biden over inflation and already-high gas prices. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>So the dark, unsettling truth here is that Republicans are both pushing for tougher sanctions <em>and<\/em> hoping to clobber Biden over higher gas prices. But Sargent is side-stepping the central issue, i.e. should we ban oil from Russia as a way to show we\u2019re all in on sanctions?\u00a0Arguably at least, the answer is that we should because we\u2019re currently in a race against time. Here\u2019s how a <em>NY Times<\/em> piece (which Sargent linked to on another point) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/03\/04\/us\/politics\/republicans-ukraine-putin.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">put it<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The problem the White House faces, current and former officials say, is one of timing. How long can Ukraine hang on? Can the sanctions affect Putin\u2019s calculations quickly enough \u2014 if at all \u2014 to make a difference on the battlefield? And how can the administration juggle all this in the middle of a heated election season, with consumer prices rising at the fastest pace in 40 years?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLook, there\u2019s still a reasonable possibility that there\u2019s a bank run and the entire Russian economy collapses next Wednesday,\u201d said Brian O\u2019Toole, a former Treasury Department official. \u201cBut the pace of sanctions is not as fast as the pace of war.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>So another, equally valid, way to look at this situation is this: Republicans <em>and<\/em> Democrats in congress are eager to see Putin fail and a ban on Russian oil could help make that happen. However, the Biden administration is holding back because it\u2019s thinking about the midterm elections. If Russia\u2019s invasion succeeds in another week or two, what is Biden going to say then about why he didn\u2019t push harder when it might have mattered? Even Sargent acknowledges that Biden could arguably be taking a very different approach, one that sounds more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2022\/03\/07\/biden-oil-ban-russia-blinken-ukraine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">like leadership<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>It might be argued that Biden will have to communicate those stakes to the American people to get them to accept the sacrifice of higher gas prices to achieve that higher aim:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">President Biden needs to speak plainly to Americans about the food\/fuel inflation that Putin\u2019s war imposes on the world. Prepare the country. No more of the glib \u201cbuy American\u201d mental junk food in the State of the Union address. Real talk about real costs.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 David Frum (@davidfrum) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/davidfrum\/status\/1500616999201820678?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">March 6, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>To be sure, it\u2019s unclear how much of an impact a Russian oil ban would have on domestic gas prices. As the Atlantic Council\u2019s Edward Fishman helpfully explains, merely banning imports to the United States might not produce such onerous costs. But the broader goal should be to try to disrupt Russia\u2019s oil sales globally, which could produce more economic turmoil, though there are various ways to mitigate it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In other words, maybe we should be doing the thing Republicans say we should be doing. In fact, maybe President Biden should be the one leading that charge. Sargent wants to pretend that Republicans promising to hit Biden on inflation are the <em>real<\/em> problem, but, to his credit, I\u2019m not even sure he buys it.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s the thing Sargent doesn\u2019t mention. Republicans were already planning to hit Biden on inflation. That\u2019s been the case for months because polls show Americans are worried about it and it\u2019s effective. As for hitting Biden specifically on gas prices, has Sargent looked at prices lately? The Biden administration has not, thus far, banned Russian oil imports but gas prices have already hit more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2022\/03\/07\/1084893419\/gas-prices-surge-to-above-4-a-gallon-oil-russia-ukraine-antony-blinken\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$4 a gallon on average<\/a> nationwide. Here in California, premium gas is now $6 a gallon and in some places in Los Angeles it\u2019s $7. So even if Biden refuses to ban Russian oil, prices are already up steeply and, yes, that\u2019s a problem for consumers and it\u2019s something the GOP will hit Democrats on this fall. So if Biden does nothing he\u2019ll be facing the same GOP attack.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s only one way to mitigate that attack that I can see. That\u2019s to do what David Frum suggested above, i.e. make a sustained pitch to Americans that in the absence of actually sending troops to Ukraine we\u2019re going to do everything we can to stop Russia and right now that means some real pain at the pump.<\/p>\n<p>If there\u2019s any dark, unsettling truth here it\u2019s that the Biden administration has clearly decided the American people can\u2019t be convinced a little shared sacrifice is needed at this moment. The White House would rather hedge its bets on Russia and blame the GOP\u2019s willingness to bring up gas prices as the reason they can\u2019t show some leadership. That excuse might work for Sargent\u2019s regular readers but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to be very convincing beyond that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If my headline sounds a little bit like an invitation to a conspiracy theory about the Bilderbergers master plan on global energy that\u2019s because I borrowed it from Greg Sargent<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1363693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1363693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1363693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1363693\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1363693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1363693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1363693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}