Your Lousy Congress

I agree with everything that Steve Benen has to say about the political stalemate on energy policy. Everything, that is, except his assessment that politicians who oppose doing anything about carbon are taking that position because they think the public wants them to. That might be narrowly true in a state like West Virginia where the local economy is really tied to coal production. But, even there, I doubt the majority of the people want us to do nothing about climate change or our dependence on oil. I’m convinced that the politicians who oppose doing anything are doing so largely because they are paid handsomely to take that position. It’s a combination of being bought off and wanting to prevent a well-funded opponent from using Big Oil contributions against them.

Author: BooMan

Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.