John Dingell: Hey, I've got an idea! Let's raise the gas tax by $0.50/gallon!

You've really got to work to keep those approval ratings at 20% or less, don't ya Johnny boy? Showing, once again, how much they truly care about working class Americans, Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) has suggested a half-dollar increase in the gasoline excise tax to help the environment:

A Michigan congressman wants to put a 50-cent tax on every gallon of gasoline to try to cut back on Americans' consumption.

Polls show that a majority of Americans support policies that would reduce greenhouse gases. But when it comes to paying for it, it's a different story.

Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., wants to help cut consumption with a gas tax but some don't agree with the idea, according to a new poll by the National Center for Public Policy Research.

The poll, scheduled to be released on Thursday, shows 48 percent don't support paying even a penny more, 28 percent would pay up to 50 cents more, 10 percent would pay more than 50 cents and 8 percent would pay more than a dollar.

I don't know about you, but I can barely afford gas as it is, and my car gets 35-40 mpg. Which is interesting, because aren't Democrats always the ones saying they are for helping the poor? I make less than $20K a year after taxes...I don't see how five more dollars sent to the government each time I fill the tank is helping my situation.

My favorite line in the article:

Some environmentalists and economists say pain at the pump may be bad for Americans, but good medicine for a sick planet.

See, I call those economists "bad economists" or "tenured Marxist college professors".

And while I would like to think this would hurt him in November, Rep. Dingell has, of course, been entrenched in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1955. He's not going anywhere.