One step forward:
Future historians will pinpoint Democratic Sen. Harry Reid's energy legislation, released Tuesday, as the moment that the political movement of global warming entered an irreversible death spiral. It is kaput! Finito! Done!
This is not just my read of the situation; it is also that of Paul Krugman, the Nobel laureate-turned-Democratic-apparatchik. In his latest column for The New York Times, Krugman laments that “all hope for action to limit climate change died” in 2010. Democrats had a brief window of opportunity before the politics of global warming changed forever in November to ram something through Congress. But the Reid bill chose not to do so for the excellent reason that Democrats want to avoid an even bigger beating than the one they already face at the polls.
One step back:
The American people don't have much confidence in government, but that doesn't mean they want less of it.
They say Uncle Sam should work efficiently, without wasting money or getting too big, but they still embrace "a wide range of actual federal government programs and initiatives." That's from a report scheduled for release Tuesday by the Center for American Progress.
