Free-Market Energy Is Voter Popular

“Interestingly, (otherwise greenwashing) BP led the fight against the Washington State carbon-tax initiative, donating $9.5 million. It would be far more honest and effective for Big Oil (including Exxon Mobil) to come out against any and all carbon tax schemes in the name of consumer sovereignty.”

“The fossil-fuel boom in the marketplace has a political corollary. Call it a victory for blue-collar energy.”

Overall, yesterday was a good election for consumer-first, taxpayer-neutral, market-order energy policy. “While hardly a clean sweep,” the American Energy Alliance concluded, “the 2018 midterms were mostly positive for the cause of affordable, abundant energy through freer markets.”

In particular, the gains from having a stronger pro-energy majority considering nominees in the Senate hold the potential for significant energy policy gains.  The continued disdain from voters in a variety of states for many of the more foolish energy policy ideas shows that there is still a strong bedrock of common sense that a free market energy policy has to build on.  The opportunity to consolidate and build on the policy gains of the last two years is very real and must be seized.

Angst and Spinning at ClimateProgress

“Big Oil spent big and won in Washington and Colorado,” read one lament at the climate website of the Center for American Progress. Author E. A. Crunden wrote:

Is big money spent on the Left okay but not from industry? And what a waste from everyone’s perspective–the world would be richer if the above initiatives would have never been pursued. Interestingly, (otherwise greenwashing) BP led the fight against the Washington State carbon-tax initiative, donating $9.5 million. It would be far more honest and effective for Big Oil (including Exxon Mobil) to come out against any and all carbon tax schemes in the name of consumer sovereignty.

And in Colorado? Crunden wrote:

Joe Romm, oblivious to the above setbacks, focused on several races to see the Statist glass as full. “With midterm election results still coming in late Tuesday night,” he wrote, “several decisive victories pointed to a clear trend: candidates who embraced policies to fight climate change and expand clean energy won the favor of voters.”

But Romm dares not mention the defeat of the Republican congressman who sponsored a federal carbon tax bill, Carlos Curbelo. Other Republicans in the Climate Solutions Caucus fared poorly, a reminder of what happened to South Carolina U.S. Representative Bob Inglis eight years ago.

Negatives

California voters defeated a measure to rescind a 2017 gas tax increase, leaving a 71 cents per gallon burden, the country’s highest. In Nevada, voters rejected an effort to allow more competition into energy markets and adopted a costly, renewable energy mandate. And Florida voters enacted enacted a constitutional ban on offshore drilling.

Conclusion

Overall, free-market energy policy had a good November 2018 judgement day. The fossil-fuel boom in the marketplace has a political corollary. Call it a victory for blue-collar energy.