Has Dingell been huffing gas?

The man has gone insane:

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

(Via Memeorandum.) Hey, why didn't the poll ask about reducing the tax on gas? Is there nobody in favor of lower taxes?

Right now, the spiraling price of gas means that the free market is doing just fine in terms of providing incentives for reduced consumption. What's the point of tax hikes now? Well, Dingell's a Democrat and Democrats are always pro-tax and anti-market.

Increasing taxes is reflexive with those people. As Jammie Wearing Fool observes, this is "an idea so stupid, only a Democrat could come up with it."