Nancy Pelosi Flexes Some Muscle
I've been critical of Nancy Pelosi in the past, but recently she did something that took some guts: she created a select committee on energy independence and climate change. Why was that ballsy? Because it effectively cut out John Dingell, chair of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee, from oversight of the Democrats' work on climate change.
Dingell, who comes from Detroit, is a political hack who stands for little except a knee-jerk defense of the American auto industry. (His wife, Debbie, is a lobbyist for GM.) But he is a powerful and crafty hack. And if it were up to him, the Democrats' dedication to cleaner air would probably result in subsidies for Hummers.
As the Washington Post puts it....
Dingell represents the other side of the debate, the side that is quick to point out that overzealous restrictions on emissions could decimate the U.S. economy. He wants to hold extensive hearings on climate change, to investigate the problem, if in fact it is a problem, and what it might cost to try to address it. That is the way he has dealt with issues since he came to Congress during the first Eisenhower administration. He says global warming will be a priority for his committee, but clearly not the only priority.
"We've got Medicaid, Medicare, health insurance, prescription drugs," Dingell said. "We've got leaky underground storage tanks."
(An aside: This is actually a genuine problem, albeit of smaller scope than climate change. I know because my sister used to work in an EPA department committed to the problem of leaking underground storage tanks—although the name of the section group was changed after some bureaucrat realized what the acronym spelled. Seriously.)
I'm still not convinced that Pelosi has what it takes to lead the Dems to the promised land...but this is definitely a step in the right direction.
