Squaring the Circle

Yesterday the Senate held a vote on eliminating subsidies for the five largest oil companies. While a majority of Senators did vote Yes on the bill, the perversion of the filibuster, where a super majority is now required to pass almost every piece of legislation, stopped the bill from passing.

In response to the vote Mitch McConnell called the actions of Senate Democrats a "dog and pony show". I think it is safe to say that this term falls into the category of pot and kettle, where political rhetoric exhibits a complete lack of self awareness. By now it should be assumed that "at least 90%" of all political actions are "dog and pony shows". Stating that fact like it is breaking news just seems odd.

Void of that the fact that a mere 10 years ago this bill would have been passed by simple majority, 74% of Americans favor ending the subsidies to big oil companies. Support like that doesn't indicate an elaborately staged performance by Democrats as much as it does a "we know what's best for you" attitude from Republicans.

Also it should be noted that ending this subsidy would reduce the deficit by five and a half times as much as ending funding for Planned Parenthood and NPR combined. If you recall the rhetoric from those debates it was about "shared sacrifice" and "everything is on the table". But when part of that everything includes big oil you get quotes like " we’re only talking about four billion dollars." from Sarah Palin and "the Obama proposal [of cutting oil subsidies] is ludicrous." from Tim Pawlenty.

The other point to consider is that fiscal conservatives like Ron Paul tend to be against all government interference in the private sector. While that means they want less regulations it also means that aren't excited about subsidies. If you are interested in reducing the size of government, ending the oil subsidies will do that. Additionally it will help to reduce the deficit while having no negative impact on consumers since gas prices won't go up, jobs won't be lost and our dependence on foreign oil won't change.

In the end changing the narrative to imply this whole debate is a publicity stunt by Democrats is preferable to having to explain how your votes don't match your rhetoric. And having a media that is too paranoid of being labeled liberal to cut through the dog and pony show that is political spin, doesn't hurt either.