Rush Limbaugh complained that low gasoline prices are a sure sign the U.S. economy is “in the tank,” a stark turnaround for a radio host who previously told listeners that high gas prices were part of President Obama's plan to inflict “economic suffering” on the American people.

Since June, the price of oil has dropped by more than half and across the country, gasoline prices are hovering around $2 per gallon.

Limbaugh opened the January 20 edition of his radio program by purporting to let listeners in on the “dirty little secret” behind these low oil prices -- a struggling economy. Limbaugh charged, “One of the leading, or primary, reasons why the price of oil is down, and gasoline, is demand. Demand is down. And the demand is down because the U.S. economy's in the tank.” The reason “you won't find very many experts acknowledge this,” he went on, is “because it contradicts the idea that the economy is roaring back.”        

Limbaugh's theories stand in stark contrast to those he offers when gas prices are high. He's spent years accusing President Obama of desiring high gas prices in order to hurt the economy and Republican voters, pushing for high prices to be a central economic criticism of Obama's first term.

Before the 2012 election, Limbaugh theorized that Obama wanted high gasoline specifically to cause economic suffering (emphasis added):

LIMBAUGH: I'm just telling you the bottom line: Rising gas prices, that's [Obama's] plan. Economic suffering is the plan. Old Chester's got too many cars: Two. He doesn't deserve them. He's not entitled to that many cars. It doesn't matter if he works hard and got the money to pay for them himself. It's not fair. He shouldn't have that many cars. Nobody “needs” that many cars. Particularly when there are people that only have one. Or, in some cases, don't have any. It's just not right.

In 2011, he speculated that media were ignoring rising gas prices to protect Obama from criticism over the economy in the run up to his reelection, asking, “Will the media ignoring the rise in gas prices be able to keep that from becoming a major factor in people's minds over the economy and Obama's role in it?” He applauded those who did report on rising prices:

LIMBAUGH: Another very, very, very, very, very, very worried about rising gasoline prices now, Washington Post and New York Times, I think on Sunday both had stories, “Uh-oh, no, rising gas prices, could it possibly be damaging to Obama's campaign?”  New York Times, Washington Post both concerned about rising gasoline prices.  Do you realize gasoline prices have never been higher at this time of year than they are right now?

[...]

The price of gasoline's up 90% since when Obama took office, folks.  They're right to be concerned about it.

As far back as 2008, Limbaugh lamented that high gasoline prices “hurt primarily Republican, middle-class, suburban voters,” and accused Democrats of reveling in higher prices to hurt GOP supporters: 

LIMBAUGH: May I take you back to last week, where I postulated the theory that one of the reasons that these high gasoline prices are found attractive by the left is who they hurt?

They hurt primarily Republican, middle-class, suburban voters. If you look at a map of the country and the red and blue versions, versus who lives where and how they voted, you find that most large Democrat cities already have some type of mass transit.

Limbaugh's hypocrisy on gasoline prices is shared by his conservative media colleagues. Fox News spent years blaming Obama for high gas prices only to respond to falling gas prices in 2012 by asking if the drop was bad for the country. As recently as October, the network was busy speculating that low gas may hurt the economy.