The New York Times has a front page story out today blaring “Home Energy Prices Are Expected to Soar” that reports:

Amid a slowing economy, high energy costs are weighing heavily on pocketbooks, and have become a major political issue. …But Democrats and Republicans are deeply split about how to respond. The deadlock in Washington was apparent last month when the Senate failed to pass a bill to double energy assistance to low-income households because Republicans insisted on including measures to allow for more offshore drilling.

For liberals, the response to high energy prices is tax and spend. Liberals are dead set against increasing domestic energy supplies, especially if that supply comes from American lands and creates American jobs. On the other hand, if leftist dictators like Hugo Chavez are supplying the energy, then that is great.

According to the Times, former Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-MA) is “urging Congress to provide more money for the federal energy assistance program, which helps poor households pay their energy bills.” And when Kennedy is not looking for more money from Congress, he is appearing in commercials promoting Venezuelan dictator Chavez’s oil giveaways.