A decent Energy bill nearly passed the Senate this week. Republicans stomped their feet and threw numerous temper tantrums at the behest of their special interest masters, the fossil fuel corporations. As a result, Mommy Reid (Capitulator-NV) let them have their way time and time again. Thus, oil and gas corporations will continue to be allowed to steal money from our Treasury; more tax dollars will be thrown at nuclear energy (don’t worry about the waste that we’ll leave behind for longer than we’ve been around as a species); a national renewable energy standard was left on the cutting room floor.
The Republicans threatened to filibuster. Tough-guy (ex-boxer) Reid didn’t force the issue. I hope he didn’t fight like this as a boxer. If your opponent feints, you don’t give up the rest of the fight and help declare him a winner. You see the feint and use it against him. Let the Republicans whine to the corporate media that they’re being forced to talk 24 hours a day about why America can’t have renewable energy; why those oil giants deserve billions more of our money; why we continue to occupy a foreign country to ensure we continue to waste a cheap resource. Because the American people get it, Sen. Reid. They know the state of affairs. They want renewable energy sources. They want to lessen our dependence on foreign energy resources. They should know who’s preventing the things they want from becoming law.
I applauded Sen. Reid’s efforts last year and early this year. But I misjudged the type of man he is. I thought we was prepared to step up and fight for the majority. Instead, I see him cowering in fear every time the evil Republicans look at him sideways. He’d rather stay in the good graces of the D.C. cocktail circuit, I guess. I read a theory that Reid and Pelosi were purposefully not letting progressive legislation get through and continuing to shaft Americans of all leanings so that our frustration will convince us to vote for Democrats again next year. Whether or not that’s true or even close, I don’t really care. Here’s where I am: if Reid, Pelosi and others continue to be so cynically manipulative, the only thing I’m going to do is support primary challengers to them. They need reminding that they’re our employees. They work for us, not the other way around. And like any other place of employment, if they can’t do the job they were hired to do, we as employers need to find someone who will.
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News from Bali includes an update on the U.S./E.U. disagreement of establishing goals at this conference. The U.S. was talked into adding some mention of a goal of decreasing GHG emissions, but it was added as a footnote and the goal was pretty vague. Oh well, I suppose it’s something.
