In our last newsletter  (click here to have one mailed to you), we noted the astonishing correlation between public approval of politicians and gas prices.  We also speculated that gas prices are artificially low - and could remain that way - until the oil industry defeats new legislation that is being debated in the Senate right now.

The higher the price of gasoline, the lower the public’s approval of politicians. In June of 2007, the president’s popularity reached an all-time low of 29% at a time when gas prices reached a record breaking national average of  $3.20 a gallon.  This table, which expresses the price of gasoline as a percentage, clearly demonstrates a “mirror image” effect where the higher the price of gas, the lower the president’s popularity (and vice/versa). Chart Source: Original research by UCAN. Data sources: Polling Report, and U.S. Energy Information Agency.

The new law kills, or at least cuts back on, obscene tax breaks for the oil industry, provides incentives for the development of renewable or "green" energy, and forces automakers to build vehicles with an average of 35 miles per gallon.  With oil hovering above $90 a barrel, all of these reforms are urgent and necessary.

Apparently, the oil industry is HOWLING about the proposed changes, and today, the New York Times reported that oil lobbyists are going "berserk" over the new legislation.  This law puts politicians between a rock and a hard place: If they vote "yes", they gain the goodwill of the voters and will likely be targeted by Big Oil in the future. If they vote "no", they'll get lots of urgently needed cash from the most powerful lobby in the free world, and the justified contempt of informed voters.