Your economics lesson for the day... not everyone in the petroleum business is part of "Big Oil":

At 11 a.m. Tuesday, Doyle said he didn't know if he could tell state regulators to not enforce the minimum markup law on ethanol-based gasoline. The law, written decades ago when all gas was totally derived from oil, requires a 9.18% markup from wholesalers to retailers. His lawyers were studying the issue, the governor said Tuesday morning.

A few hours later, he ordered state regulators not to enforce the minimum markup law on ethanol blends.
...
"I can decide whether or not the state is going to use its enforcement authority to proceed," he said. "We've got five Big Oil companies that are taking unconscionable profits from people and they have no real legitimate competition."

But you see Jim, your solution won't harm "Big Oil" one bit.  First of all, the profits which you are trying to eliminate by not enforcing this law are profits which the government mandated.  How ironic is that?  First you force them to make the profit, then you chastise them for it, then you take credit for it when you tell them to stop.

Secondly, the people who were making this particular profit aren't the big oil companies, it's the gasoline retailers.  The minimum markup law doesn't affect the producing and refining companies... it only effects the stations selling gas, after they've already paid "Big Oil" for the gas.  Most stations really don't make any profit on gasoline anyway.  They actually make all their money on the sales of things in their attached convenience stores.

However, because most of these outlets have an oil company name on the sign, it makes them an easy target for your campaign rhetoric, even though by the time the gas gets to them, the oil company whose name is on the sign has already gotten their money, minimum markup or not.

Via Boots & Sabers.