Horowitz: States must revisit the Commerce Clause to combat the feds' controlled demolition of the economy

If the Biden administration appears apathetic to the crushing price of fuel, it’s actually because it relishes this an opportunity for fundamental transformation. As Biden said during one of the presidential debates, he would ensure there is “no ability for the oil industry to continue to drill, period.” Thus, the reason Biden has refused to improve on drilling, refining capabilities, and transportation of fuel throughout the country is because he doesn’t believe in fossil fuels. High costs are a feature of, not a bug in his plan.

If you remember, the one action taken by the administration to "combat" rising gas prices was to release fuel from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). 30 million barrels were released on March 1, and on March 31, the White House announced the release of 180 million barrels beginning in April and lasting through September. So far, there is no evidence it has changed the trajectory of the price of fuel, and Biden knows this. Below is a chart from Gas Buddy with a red line marking the date of the second SPR release announcement.

As you can see, the SPR release was a complete bust, as gas prices hit $5 nationwide for the first time. Diesel prices are approaching $6 a gallon, and this is exploding the costs of pretty much every good and service imaginable.

So, what is the long-term plan? As Biden promised, no more oil. In the ultimate “let them eat cake moment,” Michigan Democrat Senator Debbie Stabenow bragged during a hearing about how she passed "every single gas station" in her brand new electric vehicle on the way to D.C., "and it didn't matter how high [gas] was."

You see, they expect everyone to be able to afford a $56,000 vehicle and the inevitable massive spikes in the cost of electric vehicle batteries. And knowing that most people can’t afford one, along with the record cost of food and homes, they will be forced into mass transit and will lose the great American freedom of automobile and home ownership. This is why Democrats, unlike during any other era where lawmakers from an incumbent party were facing an economic collapse of this magnitude on their watch, don’t seem to be too concerned. Sure, they might lose the midterms, but they are thinking long-term, and they realize Republicans don’t have what it takes to change the regulatory structure of our food and fuel supply on their own by forcing their leverage through federal budgets and through state’s rebelling against the federal malfeasance.

What we have occurring in this country for the first time is a controlled demolition. This is not a situation in which both sides genuinely care about the plight of the common man but simply disagree over the means of redress. We have an entire governing class that wants to make basic goods and services so prohibitively costly that no American can live in dignity independent of government control. Biden has even referred to the crisis as “an incredible transition,” that he hoped would, “god willing,” make us less “reliant” on fossil fuels.

Remember, we still to this day don’t know where COVID came from, but it is quite clear it was not natural. It is also quite evident that the powers that be were awfully prepared for its emergence with an unprecedented and cataclysmic response. Now, we suddenly face numerous other crises that just happen to destroy the ability of Americans to live independently. Whether it’s our government perpetuating the Ukrainian war without an end-game as it causes supply chain shortages, the avian-flu that forced the slaughter of millions of chickens and turkeys at a time when the price of chicken was already at record highs, or the sudden rash of fires on large farms and agro-processing centers, somehow every world event seems to exacerbate the unprecedented fallout from the previous event – all negatively affecting consumers on the most vital products. Then there is the baby formula recall, the peanut butter recall, and the chocolate recall. What is going on here?

While we can’t yet prove who or what is responsible for all of these unprecedented events that affect our bodies, health, food, fuel, and ability to live the American dream more than at any time in our lifetime, it is quite evident that if the federal government is not behind it, they certainly don’t seem too concerned with ascertaining who is and properly redressing it.

This is the uncomfortable discussion red state governors must commence in the coming days. What do you do when the federal government not only vitiates the Constitution, but purposely works against the interests of its own citizens – up to and including inducing waves of millions of invaders at our border?

The Constitution is not a suicide pact. The country was formed by states and they ceded some authority to the federal government through interstate commerce to “establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty.” If the federal government is engaged in a controlled demolition of our way of life, states have an obligation to collaborate and interpose the tyranny and destruction.

Even though the federal government regulates interstate commerce, states should look at forming pacts to more easily skirt federal regulations concerning the transportation and flow of fuel, construction of refineries, production of coal, and use of lands for exploration and drilling. We will also need new food regulations as well. While certainly we have a national and international economy that will inevitably affect the price of food and fuel, states should warn the feds that they will act if our overlords in Washington continue to ignore the plight of the American people.

We are already the world’s largest producer and exporter of liquified natural gas (LNG), and we have enough to supply the world for 100 years at the 2020 rate of production. Yet it is worthless without more pipelines to deliver the gas domestically and export terminals to get the gas to the Russian-dependent Europeans. These pipelines have been regulated to death by the feds and in the blue states. We still can’t benefit from the enormous reserves in the Marcellus and Utica shale deposits in Appalachia. Now, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has added greenhouse gas emissions as part of its assessment to approve gas pipelines and export terminals. It has also banned transporting LNG via railways.

As such, states should work together to formulate a plan to get around the de facto embargo on our God-given resources. As time goes on, states will need to interpose tyrannical regulations as they relate to health emergencies, natural resources, the agriculture industry, the use of land, and the regulation of the financial sector as it relates to environmental, social, or governance standards. The Constitution is not a suicide pact that only must be followed by one party where the feds can flood the states with illegal aliens while crushing Americans, but states must uphold their side of the bargain ceding interstate commerce power.

Perfectly embodying the view of the Biden regime, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre commented that "the economy is in a better place than it has been historically."

She is right. For people of her ilk who benefit from the controlled demolition of America as we know it and are outside the area of impact, it is a great time to be alive, perhaps better than ever. But who is going to represent the other 99%?