Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Keep Watching Both Hands…
I suspect that the bump in popularity from this particular bit of news (providing it turns out to be true) will have a much more favorable effect on President Obama’s poll numbers than the hard-fought health care bill did--and it’s one of those wild things that might actually find significant bipartisan support.
The Obama administration is expected to announce by Wednesday its updated plan for oil and natural gas drilling in U.S. waters, including whether to allow exploration for the first time along the U.S. East Coast.
The plan could pave the way for a significant new domestic source of energy, helping to reduce U.S. dependence on oil imports and boost supplies of natural gas used to displace coal in power plants as the country works to reduce emissions of climate-changing greenhouse gases.
Last month, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said he wanted to release the updated drilling plan by the end of March.
This is smart politics, though, like former President Clinton co-opting welfare reform. While it could alienate the progressive left (I still know people who refuse to forgive Clinton for welfare reform), it could provide significant cover from attacks from the center and right. Which cover he will use, of course, either to work on immigration reform or a cap-and-trade bill.
Call it a hunch.
But, as is often said, the devil is in the details. Until we know precisely what the proposal is (and what the cost will be--because everything has a cost), it’s too early to start praising this proposal. In politics, as in magic acts, what we see is just an illusion designed to keep us from what’s happening in the background. Keep your eyes on both hands and a tight grip on your wallet.
Comments & Trackbacks
What the heck did Clinton do with Welfare reform that people aren’t forgiving him?
The work requirement, the limit on assistance for most recipients, and the ability for states to cap payouts to families at a certain amount (instead of piling on more payments for each child in the household) were all things that at least a couple of my heavily left-leaning friends considered unforgivable. It wasn’t compassionate enough to people in need. With the family cap, they also felt that it unfairly hurt mothers and children.
I also believe--without any real evidence, I have to say--that they hated him for it simply because it was an idea taken from the Republicans and it proved to be very popular. But that’s just speculation.
I have to stress: it’s just a couple of people that I have know personally who said those things. I have no idea how most people in progressive circles felt about it.
Wow, you know people on the left that don’t treat you like you were brain-damaged?
I had a lefty friend at an old job. It was nice to have someone to talk politics to.
I never researched that bill, I just knew some generalities of it. But from what I remember, it was supposed to break the cycle of welfare dependence.
I’m everyone’s pet Republican, I guess. It helps that I hold some heretical views on a few issues, so it makes me this object of curiosity. What irritates me most--not joking, dead serious--is that some folks that i know say things like, “If all Republicans were as reasonable as you...”
It irritates me because I know that most conservatives, libertarians, and Republicans that i know are as reasonable as me. Makes me wonder if they had ever taken the time to listen before they met me.
And that is exactly what the reform was supposed to do; it’s why I was a big fan of it. Grudgingly since it wasn’t put in place by a Republican president or congress, but, still…