Durbin's war with his constituents over oil

Kimberly Strassel:

To listen to Democrats, Congress can't wait to crack down on all those greedy "speculators" who are driving up the price of oil. To listen to one Democrat in particular, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, is far more illuminating.

If the powerful majority whip is looking a little thin these days, it's because he has been feeling the squeeze.

On his left is his party, wild to find a villain on whom to blame high gas prices, intent on deflecting attention away from its own antidrilling policies. It has settled on those unfortunate traders who deal daily in contracts for the world's short supply of oil.

It's a "carnival of speculation," howled North Dakota Sen. Byron Dorgan, who introduced a bill to "shut down casino-like betting." His colleague Maria Cantwell decried the "dark" market and demanded "rules." "We are putting oil speculators on notice," intoned House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who wants to "investigate all energy contracts." Mr. Durbin's local airline, United, has also joined in, looking for a scapegoat for its own financial woes.

On Mr. Durbin's right is that financial engine of Chicago, the futures industry. Among Washington's least-kept secrets is that no Chicago politician -- right, left or agnostic -- would knowingly let anything harm that hometown gravy. And towering over the futures industry is the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, which, incidentally, is bidding $9 billion to buy Nymex -- the world's largest oil futures market and home to all of those nasty "speculators."

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What is this tough new oversight of the futures industry? Mr. Durbin's bill calls on the CFTC to do more "investigation" of the market, and (bonus!) offers to supply that agency with the funds to hire a whole 100 new employees.

As one Republican put it to me: "It's fabulous. We call it the 'Just Keep Doing Exactly What You're Doing But With A Little More Money Act.'" GOP senators were so thrilled with the Durbin nonbill that they incorporated it into their own energy legislation, robbing opponents of a key talking point.

What we have here, in short, is Congress's most fraudulent debate since Chuck Schumer saved private equity from his own party's tax grab. Mr. Durbin's Democratic colleagues know exactly what he's doing, and are winking and nodding all the way. If they really meant what they said, they'd be slamming him and his bill, while moving forward with their worst regulatory impulses.

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The bet the speculators are making right now is that the Democrats will continue to stragling the production of energy of all forms. By strangling the supply of energy, the Democrats have become OPEC's best friends as well as the hated speculators.

If the polls were reacting rationally to the energy situation and votes were opposing Democrats who are opposing drilling the price of oil would already be dropping. It is the fear that Democrats will have increased majorities in Congress as well as the White House that is also driving up the price of oil.

Until voters start voting their self interest on this issue rather than blindly voting for the enemie sof energy, the price is not going down.