This Year’s Version Of Car Tax Repeal

In 1997, Jim Gilmore rode into the Virginia governor’s mansion by promising to end the state’s car tax.

It was a world-class pander. The car tax was almost universally disliked, and voters were eager to be rid of it. (Or at least partially rid of it, since it was never fully eliminated.)

Once in office, Gilmore discovered the mechanics of fulfilling his campaign promise were tricky. The tax relief gimmick’s unintended consequences included a state budget crunch and financial pain and administrative headaches for localities.

Now that he’s running for U.S. Senate, Gilmore is back pushing another pander. He was pumping gas at a convenience store in Bristol on Tuesday, tickling voters’ ears with a promise that drilling offshore and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would lead to swift price reductions.

No serious thinker, outside of partisan political circles, believes this is the case. Even the government’s own reports indicate that drilling in ANWR will have minimal impact on gasoline prices. Increased offshore oil production could have a greater effect on prices, but it won’t be immediate, according to the Department of Energy.

Now, there’s no dispute that high gas prices are hurting average Americans and the economy. It is less clear what can be done about the prices, which are driven in large part by a weak U.S. dollar and increased worldwide demand.

Certainly, there is a need to produce more oil domestically to tide the country over until an alternative is developed. However, any increased exploration and drilling must be done in a manner that minimizes environmental damage. And states that oppose drilling off their coasts should have the right to say “no.”

But a balanced approach to drilling – that weighs the pros and cons and the potential environmental trade-offs – isn’t what Gilmore is selling. Instead, he had this to say in Bristol.

“Oil prices will drop immediately if they know we’re going to bring in more oil. ... We’ve got to drill in ANWR, and we’ve got to do it now.”

If Gilmore believes his own rhetoric, he’s a fool. If he doesn’t believe his claims, he’s a silver-tongued liar.

As he mingled with Bristolians, Gilmore also threw his support behind Republican presidential hopeful John McCain’s gas-themed pander from earlier in the summer – a federal gas tax holiday. However, we must point out that the gas tax holiday has been widely dismissed as ineffective; it isn’t even certain that oil companies would pass the break on to consumers. Some experts concluded the gas tax holiday would save the average American family 28 cents over the entire summer! And the piddling savings would starve the federal highway budget. This is a trade-off that a nation with a rather creaky infrastructure can do without.

Voters should look past Gilmore’s gas-price gimmicks and demand real solutions to the nation’s energy crisis.