MikePress’s Recent Comments

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  Dingell is not the sure choice for our future.

  While I certainly agree that Chairman Dingell has by no means been
  anti-environment over his career, he has at times proven to be
  anti-innovation. The greatest economic growth correlates closely with the
  times of great innovation. And while I also agree that green manufacturing
  represents a significant part of the answer, big industry should not dictate the terms of innovation to suite their own pace--a route John Dingell oftentimes prefers.

  For a timely example, let us turn to the automobile industry.  Remember that one of the primary reasons that they have been hemorrhaging jobs is their failure to innovate along with the times, thanks largely to one John Dingell.  Keep in mind the auto companies have cut thousands of jobs over the last two decades while continuing to fight any progress on efficiency standards including opportunities as recently as last year.  Only recently, after over 50 years in Congress and thousands of jobs lost did John Dingell concede even a modest compromise pushing the auto industry to get with the times.

  Bottom line is, when the federal government tried to act on fuel efficiency for
  cars and trucks, John Dingell constantly stood in the way. Now states are
  trying to act and John Dingell is standing in the way. His lack of
  vision helped pave the destructive path leading to the current auto crisis.
  Now the auto industry wants a no-strings bailout without any conditions for green innovation or increased fuel efficiency for cars and trucks. While we can hope that Chairman Dingell helps steer this money towards helping the auto companies retool their practices to create more efficient cars and trucks in order to preserve jobs here in the
  US, such a result is doubtful. We would have no such worries with Henry Waxman at the helm.

  Dealing effectively with the climate crisis will require innovation across all sectors
  of the economy.  John Dingell is far more likely to try to protect the coal
  industry that has been losing jobs for years despite the fact that any number of metrics show that coal provides fewer jobs than solar and wind.  If we have learned
  anything during this election season, it is that good judgment is just as
  important, if not more so, than experience. Henry Waxman has consistently
  proven to have both, while Dingell can only ever guarantee one of the two.
  It's time for a change.

  Henry Waxman has a vision more in line with the needs of our time. He will
  be the leader we need on the most pressing issues we face. I for one
  certainly hope he wins the Chairmanship so we can finally get to work.
  On Why polluter lobbyists are rallying to protect 'Tailpipe Johnny' posted 1 year ago 3 Responses