Object Lesson
The House Energy and Commerce Committee has approved a measure to extend Daylight Savings Time by two months. Of course, it's embedded in a somewhat contentious energy bill that still has to pass through the gauntlet of full Congressional voting, but it's got a better than even chance of passage.
While I'm happy with the potential for more afternoon light, (I don't care if it's dark when I'm driving into work because... well, I'm going to work), it's not the reason I posted the link. In fact, I wish to use this issue as an example of what has gone so drastically wrong with the Democratic Party over the last decade.
The Republican proposal for extending Daylight Savings Time was based upon the idea of saving 10,000 barrels of oil a day. While I am personally dubious of such wide-armed, statistically open-ended claims, at least the measure was both specific and direct in its language.
The contending Democratic measure, however, was... well, I'll be polite and say that it was somewhat less than specific:
In other words, the Democrat's counter-proposal offered pie-in-the-sky, our-solution-is-better-than-yours empty promises, but absolutely no plan for accomplishing this goal. This sort of grunting, mush-mouthed, empty rhetoric is precisely what has driven the Democratic Party into the political dead-end they currently occupy. It's the way Gore and Kerry both ran their campaigns: "Well give you bread and circuses, just give us the reins. We promise!"
The problem for the DNC, if I may wax metaphoric for a moment, is that the majority of the American public have wised up to their antics. The Republicans, while certainly no saints themselves, have consistently offered one bird in the hand. Meanwhile, the Democrats are pointing out all the birds flying around up at five hundred feet, well out of shotgun range, and screaming about the Republicans only giving the public one edible fowl.
The Honorable Mr. Waxman's proposal fairly stinks of elitism: cut the imports, even though demand is at an all-time high, and then figure out some way to live with it. Or, more to the point, us poor proles can figure out some way to live with it. His only interest lies in crowing his "successes," not in solving the root of the problem. Mr. Waxman's proposal is as empty of solutions as it is devoid of logic.
It's past time for the DNC to sweep aside the old guard, and start installing new blood in the leadership positions, people who think like the Democrats who originally built the party into the powerhouse is was in the 20th century. The mentality of a coalition of special interests has failed, and it is now consuming the party from within. They have to reorganize at the most fundamental level, replacing not just people, but ideas and goals. Otherwise, it's going to be a very, very long century for the Democrats--assuming they don't go the way of the Whigs.
While I'm happy with the potential for more afternoon light, (I don't care if it's dark when I'm driving into work because... well, I'm going to work), it's not the reason I posted the link. In fact, I wish to use this issue as an example of what has gone so drastically wrong with the Democratic Party over the last decade.
The Republican proposal for extending Daylight Savings Time was based upon the idea of saving 10,000 barrels of oil a day. While I am personally dubious of such wide-armed, statistically open-ended claims, at least the measure was both specific and direct in its language.
The contending Democratic measure, however, was... well, I'll be polite and say that it was somewhat less than specific:
The committee voted down, 39 to 12, a separate amendment to require the federal government to find a way to cut U.S. oil demand by 1 million barrels a day by 2013. The amendment offered by Democrat Henry Waxman of California aimed to reduce imports of crude oil.
The amendment did not mandate any specific action to reduce oil consumption, but supporters said raising vehicle fuel efficiency standards was an option.
In other words, the Democrat's counter-proposal offered pie-in-the-sky, our-solution-is-better-than-yours empty promises, but absolutely no plan for accomplishing this goal. This sort of grunting, mush-mouthed, empty rhetoric is precisely what has driven the Democratic Party into the political dead-end they currently occupy. It's the way Gore and Kerry both ran their campaigns: "Well give you bread and circuses, just give us the reins. We promise!"
The problem for the DNC, if I may wax metaphoric for a moment, is that the majority of the American public have wised up to their antics. The Republicans, while certainly no saints themselves, have consistently offered one bird in the hand. Meanwhile, the Democrats are pointing out all the birds flying around up at five hundred feet, well out of shotgun range, and screaming about the Republicans only giving the public one edible fowl.
The Honorable Mr. Waxman's proposal fairly stinks of elitism: cut the imports, even though demand is at an all-time high, and then figure out some way to live with it. Or, more to the point, us poor proles can figure out some way to live with it. His only interest lies in crowing his "successes," not in solving the root of the problem. Mr. Waxman's proposal is as empty of solutions as it is devoid of logic.
It's past time for the DNC to sweep aside the old guard, and start installing new blood in the leadership positions, people who think like the Democrats who originally built the party into the powerhouse is was in the 20th century. The mentality of a coalition of special interests has failed, and it is now consuming the party from within. They have to reorganize at the most fundamental level, replacing not just people, but ideas and goals. Otherwise, it's going to be a very, very long century for the Democrats--assuming they don't go the way of the Whigs.
posted by Jar(egg)head at 14:34
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home