He said it again

Senator Reid had a press release ready to go when the Republicans blocked a Senate bill that would have put ever-higher costs on fossil fuels. A number of thoughts on this painfully partisan release, and the underlying legislation:

"Senate Republicans blocked the Consumer-First Energy Act and the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008."

• Calling it Consumer-First doesn't make it so. I really, really hate such pandering legislation names. It's meaningless fluff.
• You don't magically create jobs anywhere, ever. The money has to come from somewhere. If the money isn't coming from voluntary transactions among willing parties in the market, then it ahs to be forcibly taken from somewhere - the future if it's fueled by deficits, or from taxpayers it it's through taxes. The "Job Creation" that ever renewable energy advocate likes to tout is a cost that comes out of soemone's pockets. And if those pockets are currently employing other people... my guess is that Creating Jobs in Column A by taking them away from Column B is no creation at all. Personally, my feeling is that such an attmpt at "Job Creation" would have the real economy-wide effect of Job Destruction, because such energy has a higher cost - and that cost has to be borne soemwhere.

"Bush-McCain Republicans have spent the last two weeks feigning interest in addressing the rising the costs of energy. This morning, we gave them two more opportunities to actually address it, and again they ran away from the debate and real solutions."

• Not increasing the supply of oil will lead to higher energy prices. Taxing oil companies will lead to higher energy prices. Forcing energy companies to pay for more inefficient means of producing energy willl... lead to higher energy prices. Cap-and-trade carbon restrictions? Do I really need to keep repeating myself?
• "Bush-McCain Republicans" Bush ain't McCain. Gore wasn't Clinton, either... but at least those two had a measurable relationship. I really dislike the politican season. Such a news release is more about name-calling than finding solutions, and the smug finger-pointing throughout really bothers me.

"We gave them another opportunity to invest in renewable energy rather than line the pockets of Big Oil billionaires. And we gave them the chance to create millions of good-paying green-collar jobs right here at home to combat a Bush-McCain economy that has lost jobs every month of 2008. But once again, Bush-McCain Republicans have refused to govern, squandering these opportunities the same way they have blocked so many other chances to help struggling Americans.

• Class warfare. My cynicism senses are on overload.
• See above for where money for "millions of good paying jobs" comes from. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is the perfect cliché here.
• Reid doesn't seem to like the filibuster very much any more, does he? Rather a different tune from 2005-2006. Then it was a way of "cooling the passions" in the Senate to engage in substantive debate. With a bill like this one, that's exactly what was needed.

"They just don't get it: We can't drill our way out of this crisis and we can't ignore it. Each day Republicans wait to act costs American taxpayers billions of dollars and the opportunity to create millions of good-paying jobs."

• Saying we can't drill our way out of the problem may be true long term, but it ignores the fact that if we had been drilling for the past 10 years, the current high cost of oil and gas probably would not have materialized.
• It's a lie. A bold-faced, obvious, insulting lie. Trying to hold out both "saving money" and "creating jobs" as the ends to be realized in a bill like this is something that belongs on the candied lips of a snake-oil salesman.
• Democrat's policies (broadly) have two possible ends - higher energy prices, or rationing of energy supplies. Be honest about it, please.
• You don't save money by increasing costs.
• You don't "create millions of jobs" by getting other people fired. You just shift around who has to bear the burden.

The nation needs a serious debate and long-term plan for our energy future. This is so far removed from such a debate that it doesn't belong in the same galaxy cluster. This is petty bittering and pure political machination. It is vomitous refuse that should not be allowed within sight of real political discourse. It gets me rather angry, quite sad, and makes it hard to imagine voting for Senator Reid, despite my preference for a Republican President and not-Republican Congress.