As US Representative Randy Kuhl makes his rounds pushing the Republican energy agenda - you know, drilling in ANWR - he's been trying to tie high gas prices to the woes of American automakers like General Motors. Sadly, Kuhl's got it backward. American automakers have been slow to increase their vehicles' fuel efficiency and that's been helping drive up fuel costs.

GM's problem isn't high gas prices; it's poor judgment. The same goes for other American auto manufacturers. They were slow to catch on that Americans want, and the planet needs, fuel-efficient vehicles.

Kuhl's own vehicle is part of the problem. He drives a four-wheel drive Chevy Tahoe with a Flex Fuel engine - a vehicle that GM's fact sheet says gets 19 miles per gallon, tops. That's by no means fuel efficient and it's one resource-intensive vehicle, no matter what you fuel it with.

Kuhl should get credit for a couple of things. First, that Tahoe was probably assembled at a GM plant in Wisconsin, so his payments on it benefit American workers. Second, he's a staunch supporter of ethanol fuel, so he's putting his money where his mouth is by driving a vehicle that can use it, even if fueling stations are scarce. He does want to see more ethanol produced as a way to gain independence from foreign energy. But he also sees more domestic drilling for oil as part of the solution, too.

Maybe high gas prices have hurt American automakers. But it's only because they keep pushing gas-guzzling vehicles like the Tahoe onto the public. And because the public keeps eating them up. On GM's part, that's not responsible. And now they're paying the price.