Republicans exempt big oil from ban on gas gouging

Atrios points out the Bill Frist's Senate bill to eliminate gas gouging exempts the large oil companies and only targets the small gas stations.

Apparently the Frist-backed Senate gas gouging bill exempts wholesale gouging and only applies to retail gouging. I have no idea if the big oil companies are engaged in wholesale price gouging, but that's the only type of gouging which will have any actual impact on people. Otherwise we're just talking about preventing the occasional and isolated jacking up of the price by a local gas station. Big whoop.