Dori: Where’s the outrage over soaring gas prices now?

When gas prices topped $3 per gallon in 2018, Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell was furious.

“This is a sticker shock to the American family that could get worse,” Cantwell ranted outside an Exxon gas station near the Capitol in Washington, D.C., at the time.

So incensed was Cantwell – the top Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee – that she called on then-President Donald Trump to act, as the Dori Monson Show reminded listeners on Tuesday. At the time, Cantwell and other Democratic Congressional leaders sent letters to the White House, demanding Trump push Middle Eastern countries in OPEC to pump out more oil.

Simultaneously, the Trump White House was reducing its oil dependency on Russia, making the United States more energy independent. As a result, the average price per gallon of gas for Americans dropped to $2.29 in 2019, Dori continued.

That was then. This is now.

As of Tuesday, with gas prices surging upwards of $5 per gallon in Washington state (while diesel drifts over $6 per gallon) – Cantwell hasn’t raised a peep about these prices with President Joe Biden.

Gas prices soar to record levels across Washington state

Four years ago, the increased price cost families an additional $167 a year in fuel costs, Cantwell said at the time. Today, price hikes could translate to a nearly $1,000 annual increase per family.

And what about today’s lack of outrage by Democrats?

“It shows Cantwell doesn’t really care. Her lack of a current response to fellow Democrat President Joe Biden is proof that there was never empathy with Washingtonians over painful pump prices. It’s all just politics,” Dori said.

“Nope, she doesn’t care anymore,” Dori told listeners. “She was lying in 2018 about caring. She was just putting on a political show, which is why I hate politics.”

In her 2018 outrage, Dori continued, Cantwell pointed out that Washingtonians pay the third-highest price for gas in the country.

“That’s right,” Dori responded, “because Washington has the third-highest gas tax in the country.”

Meanwhile, as prices at the pump continue to soar, state Democratic leaders don’t appear to be giving Washington families a fuel tax break, he added.

Now, Dori says, “[Cantwell] wouldn’t dare call out her team for the disaster they have wrought.”

Listen to Dori’s entire take on gas price flashbacks and today’s impact of Russian oil:

Listen to the Dori Monson Show weekday afternoons from noon – 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.