Tea Party Group Sells Gas at Pre-Obama Prices

One of the country’s biggest Tea Party groups sold cheap gas Tuesday at a Wausau area station, in order to show how much it’s gone up during the Obama administration.

The line of cars stretched down the highway, as motorists cashed in on the four year old prices. The sign at the station read $3.54 a gallon. But Luke Hilgemann of Americans for Prosperity was pumping it for much less. He denied that the stunt was possible because of the group’s wealthy donors, “We’re selling gas today, the first 15 gallons at $1.84, to remind people what it was like to fill up their cars before the president’s energy policies and economic policies took effect. And there’s no greater place to see the effect of those policies than every day when you fill up your car.”

And some found the message persuasive. Amber Clemens of Marathon said high gas prices are one of the reasons she’s voting for Mitt Romney, “Well, I have a family to take care of and cheaper gas means more food on the table and other things we can do as a family.”

Jerry Rhoden of Wausau is also voting for Romney, “Four years is certainly not enough time to solve all of the problems that we’re facing but it’s enough time to forge some significant progress and we just haven’t seen that.”

Corry Hare of Chicago drove in for the cheap gas, but he’s voting for Barack Obama.He says he’s better off than he was four years ago, “The health care, the jobs, that helped me out. And I’m doing good with my family.”

Cody Berens of Rib Mountain was also buying the gas, but not buying the message, “I just feel like Mitt Romney has been all over the place with his policies and his positions and I really don’t trust anything he’s saying.”

Berens said he doesn’t believe the president has any control over gas prices.