The Biden administration continues to choose truly bizarre ways to go after the American people. In one particularly recent and particularly strange case, as part of the War on Energy, there was reportedly to be a ban on gas stoves. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission chairman Alexander D. Hoehn-Saric released a statement on Wednesday making clear that they did not actually have such an intention in mind, though the damage was already done.
As a tweet from Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) suggested, they had the intent to ban gas stoves, but then the American public got wind of the plan and understandably expressed outrage.
Let me translate this:
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) January 11, 2023
We wanted to ban gas stoves. But then we got caught. pic.twitter.com/GMT2of1I4h
In between the short amount of time it took for the story to come out and Hoehn-Saric to make his statement, Democrats had nevertheless taken it upon themselves to go after people for daring to take issue with even just a potential proposal.
When Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) was among those making clear he refused to give up his gas stove, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) felt the need to weigh in to harp on how the N02 from the appliance "is linked to reduced cognitive performance." In a subsequent tweet she linked to a Vox article from May 11, 2020. The outlet has since continued to speak out against gas stoves, including in light of talks about a ban,
Did you know that ongoing exposure to NO2 from gas stoves is linked to reduced cognitive performance https://t.co/1bjmHqnHVa
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 11, 2023
Another Democrat, state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-CA), also tried to convince people that the ban was a no big deal, since they're "a blue state thing." Also, it's "conservatives" who are making it into "a culture war issue."
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Wiener was quote tweeting Sam D'Amico, the founder and CEO of Impulse, which is described on Twitter as "accelerating whole home electrification with next-generation appliances." D'Amico took his own potentially snarky tone, beginning his tweet by pointing out that he "Just wanted to put this out there."
Conservatives are trying to make protecting gas stoves — which are toxic — a culture war issue.
— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) January 11, 2023
What they don’t appear to realize is that gas stoves are a blue state thing. People in red states predominantly use electric stoves.
Facts are a funny thing, aren’t they? https://t.co/CNT08zeiXi
As our friends at Twitchy highlighted, Wiener was thoroughly and ruthlessly mocked, to the tune of over 2,000 replies and, of the 351 retweets, 273 were quote tweets also taking issue.
"Silly right wingers are opposing this regulation to control a source of pollution that is threatening public health. But the joke's on them! It's blue states that are polluting and threatening public health! Ha!"
— Casey Mattox (@CaseyMattox_) January 12, 2023
... is quite a flex.
His bio has to be the most toxic thing I have ever seen. https://t.co/eb8S1cde0v
— MimiLisa 2.0 (@69MimiLisa) January 12, 2023
This has nothing to do with “red vs. blue” states (a measure becoming increasingly irrelevant these days).
— pipermcq (@pipermcq) January 11, 2023
It has to do with the scope of government, and, more specifically, its scope of power to coerce individual Americans by way of over-reaching regulation.
My stove, my choice.
— ₿ Michelle Ray ₿ (@GaltsGirl) January 12, 2023
How's that for your culture war, silly authoritarian?
Pssst... not a "silly" "right winger." https://t.co/C1ajc1zm6u
It doesn't matter who does or doesn't use a gas stove. What matters is that it is none of the government's business. Period.
— Laura Wamsley (@LauraWamsley) January 11, 2023
As a California resident, with the number of blackouts we have in any given year, I doubt we’re ready to get rid of gas stoves. Fix the grid first, then talk to us.
— Laura (@Cantbelievewer1) January 11, 2023
Adding to the brutal nature of the reactions is how people brought Wiener's extremist record into it, all fair game, given that his record speaks for itself.
Only if you're doing it with your gas stove on
— KelvinL 🥞 (@KMoney408) January 11, 2023
You know what else is bad for your health? AIDS.
— Mindy Robinson 🇺🇸 (@iheartmindy) January 12, 2023
But you made that legal to give to someone knowingly and purposefully for reasons that we’d love for you to explain to the rest of the class. 🧐
You promote drug use, but draw the line at gas stoves?
— CrashPatriot 🇺🇸 (@crashpatriot1) January 11, 2023
This guy… pic.twitter.com/xvEInDAfbZ
— Waoww LoDuv 👑 (@LoDuv) January 12, 2023
In 2017, California passed a law proposed by Wiener which decriminalized knowingly infecting someone with HIV/AIDS.
Even after the bill became law, Wiener has continued to play the victim.
Since we passed SB 239 & decriminalized HIV, the homophobic backlash from the right-wing MAGA crowd has been severe & sustained. They personally attack me & ppl living w HIV - peddling the false narrative that HIV-positive ppl are sociopaths who intentionally try to infect others
— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) July 29, 2018
The state senator also supports drug decriminalization, despite how California has seen a particularly high rise in homelessness, especially compared to the rest of the country, with 46 percent of people living on the streets having a substance abuse problem.
Further, Wiener represents San Francisco, which has been particularly suffering. In June of last year, Leighton Woodhouse of RealClearInvestigations put out a piece highlighting "The Criminal Order Beneath the 'Chaos' of San Francisco's Tenderloin."
That "chaos" exists in San Francisco thanks to not just now recalled DA Chesa Boudin who refused to prosecute drug traffickers, but because, as another piece by Woodhouse highlighted, of "subsistence harm reduction." Drug addicts can use at supervised sites and, Woodhouse also writes how in "California, changes in state law have made it virtually impossible for any program that accepts public funds to push clients to quit using."
Yet state Sen. Wiener still thought it fitting to reintroduce legislation in December of last year--just weeks ago--to decriminalize psychedelic drugs.
Wiener has continued to tweet and retweet about gas stoves, including when it comes to linking the Vox articles mentioned above.
Democratic politicians aren't the only ones, though. Their allies in the mainstream media are right there with them. Beyond the Vox articles, one of which included Rebecca Leber's "The gas stove regulation uproar, explained," there's Maxine Joselow's "How the humble gas stove became the latest flash point in the culture wars" for The Washington Post, just one of the articles the outlet has published on the matter.
"Republicans and allies of fossil fuels are rallying behind the humble gas stove, a staple in millions of U.S. kitchens that has emerged as a flash point in the nation’s ongoing culture wars and a source of conservative resistance to President Biden’s environmental agenda," she wrote to begin her piece.
Although she referenced opposition from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) in her piece to show how the outrage was bipartisan, there was still plenty more in the piece putting it on Republicans:
The gas stove furor reflects the challenges the Biden administration faces the next two years as it tries to enact tougher climate regulations. While Biden has pledged to halve the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the decade, Republicans and the fossil fuel industry are fiercely resisting stricter environmental standards.
By raising fears of a ban on gas stoves, Republicans are in some ways taking a page from former president Donald Trump, who often complained about energy-efficiency standards for household appliances — including lightbulbs that make you “look orange,” toilets that “don’t get any water,” showers that lack a “full shower flow” and “worthless” dishwashers.
As a way to troll Democratic politicians, people have taken to pointing to when they have been photographed with a gas stove. Among them? State Sen. Wiener.
https://t.co/W3yQmISlfR pic.twitter.com/hXk8XMkLJR
— 🫃🏼🇺🇦💉🌊Hollaria Briden, Esq. (@HollyBriden) January 12, 2023
She needs to have that oppressive appliance of privilege removed for the sake of kitchen equity. https://t.co/6YafsxKxtV
— Brad Slager: CNN+ Lifetime Subscriber (@MartiniShark) January 12, 2023
Now I understand @JoeBiden’s lack of cognitive performance. It’s @FLOTUS gas stove! Lock him up! https://t.co/xm3Ia9wRJ1 pic.twitter.com/1XMYoC8D7l
— Vernon Jones (@VernonForGA) January 12, 2023