Republicans wanted Russia oil sanctions. Don’t blame Biden for the consequences.

Buying gas since Russia invaded Ukraine less than two weeks ago almost physically hurts your wallet. Last week, North Carolina gas prices rose 37 cents on average, and the average price per gallon is over $4.

North Carolinians and other U.S. residents are understandably stressed about it: so many of us rely on cars to get us to work, school, doctor’s appointments, and more. This is especially true the further you get into rural North Carolina, where public transportation doesn’t exist and there’s too much sprawl to make walking or biking feasible.

Prices are about to get worse. In response to the continued invasion of Ukraine, President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday a ban on imports of Russian oil, liquefied natural gas and coal. The ban also blocks Americans from financing foreign companies that are investing in energy production in Russia.

The measure is something that likely will drive high gas prices even higher. “The decision today is not without cost here at home,” Biden said. “Putin’s war is already hurting American families at the gas pump. Since Putin began his military build-up at Ukrainian borders, just since then, the price of gas at the pump in America went up 75 cents and with this action it’s going to go up further.”

Still, it’s a measure that has wide support from the American people, according to at least one poll. Republicans also agree, including in North Carolina, where Senate leader Phil Berger released a statement in support of the ban Tuesday, saying “we must do more than removing Russian vodka from store shelves.” U.S. Rep. Ted Budd, who voted against Russian energy sanctions initially, announced his support of banning their oil late Monday.

This could be the time for sacrifice like we saw in World War II, where people across the political spectrum understood what they’d lose in order to support the country’s war effort. We worry, however, that North Carolina Republicans will politicize future price surges as just another thing Biden is responsible for — even when they have little basis for those claims.

Already, the official NC GOP Twitter account had been filled with posts and retweets blaming Biden for the increase in gas prices and lack of “energy independence.” U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn tweeted that Trump was right about the need for energy independence. Former Gov. and current U.S. Senate candidate Pat McCrory tweeted: “As gas prices bankrupt the middle class and starve the poor, President Biden says nothing about unleashing American energy resources. He has no plan!”

That’s not true. The Biden administration has worked with other countries to release 60 million barrels of oil from reserves, half of that from the United States. The U.S. also has been increasing oil production under Biden and Donald Trump — the country was a net exporter of petroleum in 2020 and 2021 for the first time since 1949. Biden has somewhat limited control over increasing domestic oil production further. That’s largely up to oil and gas companies, who can take advantage of the 9,000 unused leases the administration says are available for oil and gas production.

As for the Keystone XL pipeline, which Republicans say would have provided gas price relief had Biden not killed it? Experts say the pipeline would have had a minimal impact at the pump.

North Carolinians should note that the “energy independence” Republicans call for can be had another way — by our state being a full participant in efforts toward renewable energy, including support of electric vehicles. For now, however, they also should remember that the president historically has little control over the price of gas, which is mostly determined by supply and demand at an international level. Gas prices in the U.S. have increased since April 2020, coinciding with a massive OPEC production cut a month later. Banning imports of Russian oil — something European leaders also are mulling — will surely disrupt that supply further.

We hope Republicans, who support the measure, will also resist complaining about the consequences.

This story was originally published March 8, 2022 at 3:39 PM with the headline "Republicans wanted Russia oil sanctions. Don’t blame Biden for the consequences.."