I know the populist position on issues is “stick it to the oil companies!” but the simple reality is that increasing the already too-high tax burden on oil companies (remember that most of these companies already pay more to the government than they make in taxes) is just going to make gas prices at the pump higher.

WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked a $32 billion package of tax breaks for renewable energy that would have been financed mostly by new taxes on major oil companies.

Democrats came three votes short of overcoming a threatened GOP filibuster that was keeping the measure from being attached to a broader energy bill. Republican senators argued that the nearly $29 billion in additional taxes on major oil companies would have led to reduced production and higher gasoline prices.

Because of Republican opposition, Democrats needed 60 votes to allow the package to come up for a vote, but fell short, 57-36. With a number of senators not voting, Democrats could resurrect the measure later, though there was no immediate indication of that.

Again, $29 billion in new taxes on the oil industry just means $29 billion more Americans will have to pay at the pump.  And maybe more given that these sort of heavy-handed tax levies tend to depress production, meaning less supply of oil to meet America’s ever-growing demand.

On the same issue, the Heritage Foundation points out that the legislation Democrats are supporting to address fuel issues is, without a doubt, going to make things more expensive at the fuel pump:

The Senate is currently debating energy policy legislation that could result in significantly higher prices for gasoline consumers. A review of S. 1419, including the just-completed section on tax changes, reveals that the bill could increase the price of regular unleaded gasoline from $3.14 per gallon (the early May national average) to $6.40 in 2016--a 104 percent increase.

The Senate bill aims to slow and ultimately reverse the growth of carbon emissions from gasoline-powered vehicles, mainly through provisions requiring higher Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for cars and more biofuel content in retail gasoline. The bill does not, however, contain significant funding or organizational plans for increasing the country’s supply of petroleum. In addition, the bill contains a section directed at “price gouging.” The bill proposes paying for the new mandates and programs with a series of tax increases, most of which would be paid by producers of gasoline. The combined effects of these policy changes would cause retail gasoline prices to increase.

Remember that the Democrats are promising to make gas less expensive for Americans with this legislation, but I wonder if that isn’t a subterfuge (a lie for those of you less nuanced than I) aimed at covering up their true agenda: Forcing America to switch from gasoline by making it too expensive for most Americans to afford.

Because if the liberals really want Americans to switch from regular gasoline to alternative fuels they shouldn’t want regular gasoline to be cheaper.  The surest way to ensure that most Americans keep using gasoline is to keep it cheap.  The surest way to get them to consider alternatives is to make regular gas more expensive than those alternatives.

So what the Democrats are doing, essentially, is telling us they’ll make gas cheaper but actually taking steps to make it more expensive.

Don’t you just love being mislead like that?