While this site is obviously a Republican site I totally agree with the basics of the list they have made.
To be fair I would like to see a list of how all of Congress, both Republican and Democrat, have voted on those issues. My guess is there's been a lot of Republicans as well that voted against those proposals. Certainly Republican administrations have allowed mergers that reduced competition and ultimately hurt the consumer. Which brings me to my rant of the day.
The fact is that neither party has done anything for the American energy consumer since the initial oil crisis in the early 1970s. I know because I've lived that entire time. Congress has become a wholly partisan group that's controlled by special interests with big money. For a country as powerful as we are to find ourselves in this sorry oil-dependent situation nearly forty years after the initial oil crisis is shameful. I just get livid when I see Harry Reid spouting off against the administration. And I don't feel any better when I hear Dick Cheney either.
There are lots of reasons for it but I think the primary one is the failure of Congress. The President can't do it by himself. Ultimately it falls to Congress to create legislation and incentives and it simply hasn't happened. Normally I'm the last person to look to the government for help but for this issue it's the only solution. One can blame the liberals or the conservatives but it doesn't matter. We are where we are and it ain't good.
I'm continually amazed at the talking heads who speak against things like nuclear power or the burning of coal for energy. Everything we do every day has risk. We all have to manage it and it doesn't matter whether it's managing the risk of walking across the street or having a nuclear power plant in our backyard. For God's sake we put men on the moon nearly forty years ago and long before the age of microchips and computers. And we can't manage the risk of drilling for oil in Alaska or operating a nuclear plant? Bullshit.
Our country isn't just short of oil. It's short of leadership at every level. The good news is that we voters can change that. But it's going to take courage, commitment and time. Let's kick em all out and start holding our politicians accountable again.
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Our greatest leaders won't run for public office because (1) there's something in their past that Americans would be stupid enough to hold against them and (2) they don't have the desire to have every piece of their lives dissected by the media.
Can you imagine if slave-banging, wrote-his-own-version-of-the-Bible Thomas Jefferson ran for office today? He wouldn't have a shot in hell.
We've gotten the leaders we deserve. No one in office today will vote for any legislation that would require one bit of sacrifice because none of us are willing to do it.
Posted by: Steve at Jun 19, 2008 6:54:42 PM
Great to hear from you, Steve!
Posted by: Lewis at Jun 20, 2008 11:18:27 AM
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