It's your fault:

Emanuel was speaking of US automakers "gas guzzlers". "Speaking on CBS' 'Face the Nation,' Emanuel said energy costs are too low, anyway, and U.S. car companies relied too long on gas-guzzling autos and failed to invest in alternative energy vehicle"... Don't worry people, Cap and Trade will help drive up the cost. Hope/Change indeed.

Don't get me wrong. There are plenty of smart ways to make this argument. You could say that the current price so dramatically underprices externalities that taxpayers end up paying more than they would have in a world of higher energy prices. You could say that the current price undercuts investment in technological innovation, putting US industries at risk relative to Japan and Germany. You could even say that the current price is too low for Canada to extract shale oil, shifting all oil revenue to the Middle East and adding up to a increase in the total revenue going to the oil sheiks. All of these are decent arguments that reasonable people can argue about.

Except we can't have those arguments because the things we used to count on - minimum things like consistency and sincerity - apparently don't matter any more. Four months ago high energy prices were a reason to embrace one-party rule. Now they're the path to a robust renewables market. Democrats have spent the last eight years railing against the spiraling deficit. Now Orszag is claiming that elevated deficits are good. And that's before we even get to Dean's idiotic braggadocio about about undercutting government revenue via punative nanny state taxation.

Democrats have gone from promising to avert financial disaster to just claiming that financial disaster is good. Neat trick if you can pull it off. Which - in this media environment - they most certainly can.

References:
* Hope/Change!!! Rahm Emanuel: "Energy Costs Are Too Low Anyway" [Jawa]
* White House Budget Director Orszag: "Elevated Deficits Are Beneficial" (Video) [Gateway Pundit]
* Dems: We'll Finance Health Care With Cigarette Tax That Will Cause People To Stop Buying Cigarettes [MR]
* Figures: Obama's List Of Pre-Screened Questioners Emerges One Day After Media Celebrations Of How Obama Doesn't Pre-Screen Questioners (Plus: It's Possible That The MSM Is Making Up Excuses For Their Obama Worship) [MR]

Previously:
* Obama: I Can't Believe Failed Wall Street Execs Are Using The Bailout Money We Rewarded Them With To Reward Themselves
* Democratic Catch-22: Executive Salary Caps Unworkable Because Of $10 Billion Tax Revenue Loss
* Watchers Council Nominations - Dissent Is Only Patriotic When It's Filled With Nuance