So serious that he recently e-mailed me a link to a map showing the cheapest gas in my area. Three locations pop up: one in Powhatan and two in Petersburg. Considering those are all about a 45-minute drive from my house, I’m not sure I’ll call that a net savings in gas.

Warner’s e-mail also included a link to a Federal Government website telling me how to drive more efficiently. This reminds me of the time during the 2008 presidential campaign when then-Senator Obama said that inflating our tires would save as much energy as we could produce by drilling more in the U.S.

Here’s the entire text of Warner’s e-mail:

I’ve heard from many of you about the skyrocketing gas prices and I understand the strain that these dramatic increases are placing on family budgets.

Finding the lowest gas prices in your area and researching alternative ways of reducing your fuel consumption can help ease the burden of these cost increases.

Finding the lowest prices in your area will ensure immediate savings at the pump. The following link will allow you to find the lowest gas prices in your area in a fast and convenient way.

I would also recommend the Department of Energy’s guide to fuel economy. It offers several helpful tips that will help you reduce your fuel consumption and maximize the gas mileage in your automobile.

I am a strong advocate for an “all of the above” approach to energy, and I believe the United States should lead the world in producing the clean, safer fuels of the 21st Century.

I hope these resources help you reduce your fuel costs and drive in a smarter, more wallet-friendly manner. If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact my office.

I don’t know why so many Americans take politicians like Mark Warner seriously. If he really wanted to help ease the pressure at the pump, instead of sending insulting e-mails about how to drive properly and where to fill up, he could address the root causes: the Fed and his own party’s rabidly anti-energy policies. I will credit him that he came out against President Obama’s drilling moratorium, but he hasn’t done much to openly advance the cause of greater energy exploration in the U.S. (I know, because I haven’t received an e-mail about it.) And he didn’t demand the Fed stop flooding our economy with new money, reducing the value of the dollar, which causes a rise in the price of oil. It also doesn’t help that the Democratic Party continues to publicly attack the oil industry, threatening to increase their cost of doing business. That extra cost, of course, will simply flow through to you and me in the form of … higher gas prices.

So will Mark Warner now stand up to his Democrat colleagues and tell them to get out of the way of the oil producers instead of creating roadblocks at every turn? Because the truth is that if America were ever to become serious about energy independence and actually go all the way with developing our own plentiful oil, shale, and natural gas resources, the price of energy would plummet, permanent jobs would be created, and our economy would boom. Instead, though, we find ourselves in a situation where the skyrocketing gas prices are further stretching Americans on tight budgets, and will ultimately inflate the already inflated cost of the products we purchase, since they will now be more expensive for businesses to ship. And if gas prices get too high, it will decimate the trucking and airline industries we depend on for a functioning economy.

But—perhaps there’s hope? The House just passed a bill to lift the drilling moratorium. As Senator Warner calls himself “a strong advocate for an ‘all of the above’ approach to energy,” he’ll be leading the charge in the Senate to pass this bill and override President Obama’s certain veto, right?

Riiiight.

But, hey, at least I now know how to inflate my tires and drive a few cities over to save 10 cents/gallon on gas.

Cross-posted at redstatevirginia.com