Biden Outsmarts Republicans By Using Gas Prices To Whack Their Infrastructure Plan

Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 01:29 pm

President Biden used the recent rising gas prices to argue against the Republican plan to pass the cost of infrastructure on to working people.

Video:

To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.

President Biden said:

I am encouraged that there is room to have a compromise on a bipartisan bill that is solid and significant and means to pay for it without dropping all of, all of the burden on middle-class and working-class people. Look, what is the one thing that people are concerned about with the gas? Gasoline? The price is going up. Exactly right, and it matters if you make $40,000 a year.

It matters if you are a two-family person who is making $80 or $90,000 or two wage earners. It matters. What I don’t want to do and this is another discussion that we did not get into today is how to pay for it. And if everything is paid for by a user fee, well, then the burden is going to fall on working-class folks who are having trouble, and we are getting them out of the — and they are coming around, but it has to be a burden shared across the spectrum.

When politicians start talking about pay fors and user fees, the eyes of most Americans glaze over and they tune out.

The reason why Biden has been so effective with his message is that he is able to take DC jargon and turn it into something relatable for the American people.

President Biden was right. Increased gas prices matter to working-class people. Increased user fees matter to people who use infrastructure every day to get to work or school, or if drives the cost of the family vacation up a little higher.

Biden gets it, and he appears to make each decision with working people in mind.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

Follow and Like PoliticusUSA on Facebook

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association