How soon before gas prices start to rise?

Robinette destroyed one of those "Democrats can't complain, look who they voted for" argument the other day when some radical called in to be partisan. He said why does every time the prices go up at the pump, OPEC cuts them. Because just like the corporate interests, OPEC doesn't have a vested interest in losing America as a favored consumer. It's everyone's fault. If prices get too high, then alternatives become feasible.

What needs to happen is that we need to get off the grid. $500 billion and potentially up to $2 trillion could have solved anybody's (including ours) oil problems. Iraq was a temporary solution and will result in the continued free flow of oil (for now) out of that region. But we need to get off the stuff. The entire economy could be driven by a changeover into whatever we decide on for the next fueling mechanism. Our true national security depends on our own oil independence. That's the easiest fact to throw out there these days no matter what your political persuasion may be. Everyone knows it. So why was Jerry Brown (Gov. Moonbeam) the only recent candidate to make it a major priority of his presidential campaign? Aren't we America? Can't we invent something else without the ties to the existing power structure (corporate, domestic and international)?

TPS