You can always count on Republicans to stick up for the little guy oligarchs.

Sen. Orrin Hatch isn’t wasting words on what he thinks of harsh criticism that oil company CEOs are taking on Capitol Hill. He’s letting a portrait of a dog sitting on a pony tell part of the story.

At a hearing on gas prices, the Utah Republican said that Senate Democrats are conducting a dramatic hearing to “make some political hay at the expense of our witnesses today.”

This again.

Remember when right-wingers jumped to defend BP after they destroyed the Gulf of Mexico? I don’t know what they’re thinking, because Americans hate oil companies. But I guess Big Oil’s fee-fees are all that matter.

So, rather than finger them or greedy speculators for the rise in gas prices, as the majority of us do, Orrin blames you instead.

Hatch defended Americans who want to drive minivans and SUVs – they have kids, he argued, and need the space. He said that raising taxes on an industry because they make profits is unfair.

“What if an increase in demand for coffee results in Starbucks reporting record profits?”

I don’t think that was a joke.