As far as the general public is concerned, BioFuels, Hydrogen, amd Coal Sequestration are all responsible, economical, climate-safe approaches to dealing with the issue.

(And many "Green" organizations also like the Center for American Progress, and the National Resources Defense Council, and even somewhat the Union of Concerned Scienctists)

And a Gingrich / Nordhaus style push for "voluntary technology".

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Supporting fake options does two things.

It removes dollars, attention, and legistlation away from focusing on renewable electricity.
It allows politicians who aren't green to still appear green.

Much in the same way that if you were to call the "No Child Left Behind Act" allows politicians to look "compasionate" about public schooling and children.  All the while what it does in practice, is remove funding for public schools in low income communities, and generally weaken the public school system as they are forced to teach to a federal test, rather than focus on actual comprehension.

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The Rightwing is already quite good at "appearing" green, while derailing serious green proposals.

But they aren't very good at actually being green.

But the problem with politics,
Perception is Reality.

Especially in an election year.

(1) Romm makes a frequent progressive mistake. He assumes that if you only use the right arguments powered by reason, your opponents will have a Saul on the road to Damascus experience, will come over to your viewpoint, and will join you on the path of righteousness. Unfortunately this seldom happens. Romm chooses to ignore how often the irrational rules in human affairs, and how often the winning side triumphs because its opponents die off before it does.

(2) In order to get really serious about the climate, the GOP would have to put a knife in the back of industries & interests that it has been loyal to since the Civil War. It is not going to happen.

(3) In order to get really serious about the climate, the GOP will have to machine gun a whole stable of its sacred cows. It will have to renounce its loyalty to the Market God, embrace regulation, and reign in corporate power. Not going to happen.

(4) Romm thinks that the current regime that rules the GOP is conservative. It is not. It is radically reactionary, and high on its list of enemies is the environmental movement - which in some GOP venues is a substitute bogeyman for communism.

(5) Romm is blind to the power of ideology in the current GOP and how that ideology becomes welded to the identity of its activists & stalwarts. For the past generation one of the main requirements to be a PC Republican is to be a climate change denier. The current ruling generation in the GOP will have to pass from the scene before this will change.

While reading Romm's piece an old tune kept echoing in my mind. "Wouldn't It be Nice" by the Beachboys. Well, it would be nice, but for the forseeable future we will find slim pickings in the GOP when it comes to progressive, much less sane climate policies.

The GOP must fall in 2008 or we can kiss this planet good bye.  

1-20-09

Randy Cunningham

Randy Cunningham