"Let's try for a 0% approval rating!" - Democrats call for new gas taxes

Hoping to reach the magical zero-percent approval rating, Congressional Democrats are calling for new and higher gas taxes on the American suckers citizens who elected them.

Now, [Democratic] lawmakers quietly are talking about raising fuel taxes by a dime from the current 18.4 cents a gallon on gasoline and 24.3 cents on diesel fuel.


...Just three years ago, [the construction] trust fund enjoyed a surplus of $10 billion. Even without a tax freeze, the fund is projected to finish 2009 with a deficit of $3 billion. That that could grow as Americans drive less and buy less gas because of higher pump prices.

[Ed: I wonder what happened after 2005? Perhaps a new set of Congressional leaders were elected? Leaders of the Democratic -- spend first and ask questions later -- variety?]

Senate Democrats in May tried to add $5 billion to an aviation overhaul bill to replenish the highway trust fund next year; Republicans objected. Democrats tried again in June, but this time for $8 billion; Republicans objected to that, too.

Congress should first reduce spending on pet projects, known as earmarks, argued Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C. "I'm not going to let the Senate spend all this money when nobody is looking, especially when we refuse to stop wasting billions of taxpayer dollars on earmarks."

There's an idea: perhaps our earmark-addicted leaders (Senators Obama and Clinton alone have combined on nearly a half billion dollars in pork) could start by cutting their own scandal-laced projects before socking American consumers with higher taxes.

But that would require a high level of ethics and a stand-up attitude: and neither characteristic seems to be a strong suit of our Democratic Congress.

Hat tips: STACLU and Macsmind.