Outside the Beltway

Manipulation of Gasoline Prices for the 2005 Election

Steve Verdon
15

Comments

I have to say, this kind of cynical manipulation of the gasoline price by Bushco in power is simply despicable.

gasoline2005.gif
Source: EIA

Based on the data it is quite clear that just before the 2005 elections the price of gasoline was reduced to help the Bush Administration by helping various Republican Senators and Congressmen win re-election. Given that we has an even more blatant manipulation of gasoline prices in 2003 for that election the sooner that Bushco is thrown out of power, the better.

Update: Wow, we can see something similar for 2003 as well. Clearly proof positive that Bushco is using his and Cheney’s ties to Big Oil to manipulate prices for political gain.

gasoline2003.gif
Source: EIA

And if one looks at the data at the EIA prices rose in September and October in non-election years 2002 and 2004. And if you look at the weekly data for 2004 we see that the price was very high for the last weeks of October and even higher in the first week of November (207.55 vs. 207.6). Since there would be no electoral benefit to having prices decline in 2004 this clearly shows that Bushco allows Big Oil to gouge consumers in non-election years.

Categories

, , ,

Tags

,

15 responses to “Manipulation of Gasoline Prices for the 2005 Election”

  1. Dale B Avatar
    Dale B

    The year in the chart title and post text (2005) is inconsistent with the X axis label (06). I assume that the X axis label is wrong.

  2. Steve Verdon Avatar
    Steve Verdon

    Fixed it, bad data entry on my part.

  3. Fersboo Avatar
    Fersboo

    A devious plotter one minute and a chimp the next. I didn’t realize that McHalliBushHitler was a schziod.

  4. charles austin Avatar
    charles austin

    Well, of course he was trying to influence the Iraqi elections!

  5. Tano Avatar
    Tano

    Used to be that there was some sense that, if one were to make a strawman argument like this, that one would have to try to back it up with at least a link or two – to some obscure commenter on some obscure blog – who, it would be claimed, was the true and authenic voice of “THE LEFT” or “DA LIBRULS”.

    Standards seem to be slipping here. We dont get one stinkin’ link!

  6. Wayne Avatar
    Wayne

    Election years were 2002 and 2004. The winners don’t take office until 2003 or 3005 but the elections take place in even years. So what does that say about the data.

  7. Wayne Avatar
    Wayne

    Typo 2005 not 3005.

  8. charles austin Avatar
    charles austin

    When you have to explain the joke…

  9. yetanotherjohn Avatar
    yetanotherjohn

    The data actually supports the theory that gas prices are controlled by Santa Claus who ensures that people are in a good mood for Christmas by lowering gas prices for December and then letting them rise for the rest of the year. Now prove the theory wrong.

  10. Wayne Avatar
    Wayne

    There is so many nut case conspiracies out there and people who thoughts are way out there that it is hard to know when someone is joking. Remember the “Bush blew up the WTC” and “the military sent a missile in the Pentagon” theories.

  11. Steve Verdon Avatar
    Steve Verdon

    Used to be that there was some sense that, if one were to make a strawman argument like this, that one would have to try to back it up with at least a link or two – to some obscure commenter on some obscure blog – who, it would be claimed, was the true and authenic voice of “THE LEFT” or “DA LIBRULS”.

    Standards seem to be slipping here. We dont get one stinkin’ link!

    Apparently it hasn’t dawned on Tano that there were no elections in 2005 and 2003, but during the year there was an election prices actually rose. Or to put it more simply, this post is a mockery of the conspiracy theorizing going on about manipulation of oil prices. The punchline, the data don’t match the theory.

    A more serious implication of this post is that there is a reason for this kind of decline in oil prices. Us boring old econometric/statistical types call it seasonality.

    When you have to explain the joke…

    Right, which just goes to show that Tano has no sense of humor; something I long suspected.

  12. Tano Avatar
    Tano

    Steve,

    My humor is fine thank you. What about your reading skills?

    I understand perfectly what you are trying to show in the graphs. My point was about your claim that anyone is actually going around making the claim that BushHitlerMcHalliburtonChimpyWhatever is controlling the price of oil. Did you note my reference to “strawman argumentation”? Strawman means that you state a weak or unsupported premise, then knock it down. Your premise is that the left, or someone, is making this argument. Personally I have never seem the argument made, although I see lots of rightwingers working hard to knock it down.

  13. James Joyner Avatar
    James Joyner

    Tano:

    Try a query on Google Blog Search for ‘Bush gas prices election’ (no quotes needed).

  14. yetanotherjohn Avatar
    yetanotherjohn

    I notice that the Santa Claus theory still stands as more neatly explaining all the data than the theory that the GOP is somehow manipulating gas prices. Steve merely reinforces it with his point about seasonality…as in the Christmas season.

  15. Steve Verdon Avatar
    Steve Verdon

    Tano,

    Okay, fine its a strawman, head on over and scold Professor James Hamilton for making the same strawman argument. Sheesh.

Latest Posts