One would never know George Bush’s poll numbers were in record lows. Usually such unimpeded legislative victories are reserved for popular presidents.
But today, the president won a historic victory for Mr Cheney’s long sought energy bill. A bill that will do more to change the US economic landscape than any in generations. The relatively mild deregulations that brought Enron to Califormia in the 1990s pale in comparison. This bill is set to take Enronization nation wide.
A Requiem For An Era
What FDR’s New Deal, Public Utility Holding Company Act did seventy years ago was prevent large corporations from gaming our national energy supply. As a natural monopoly with a “captive” consumer base, it was recognized that the energy market was prime for exploitation. That our very survival, economically and physically, required reliable, stable, and affordable energy. And that allowing energy to be traded as just another commodity was a severe threat to our very way of life.
This was not just because of the captive monopoly factor, but because energy is not just another commodity. It is the singular driver of the production of all other commodities. Without energy, we produce nothing.
So today marks the passing of an era. We now go from almost a century of stable energy prices based on a healthy blend of market forces and strong consumer protections, localized and accountable oversight of utility companies, and a general, personal and economic security in always knowing where your next kilowatt is coming from, to a veritable free market wild west. The Thatcherization that has destroyed so many economies in the Third World has now begun full scale here.
Today also marks the moment in history when it may be said that the decrepit, corporate decay that has plagued the Democratic party for the last two decades became terminal. And as a lifelong, multi-generational Democrat, I don’t say that lightly.
Of course, hardly anyone will know it. As with the last time I wrote on this subject, I Google News-ed the Public Utility Holding Company Act or PUHCA and only a handful of newspapers in the world have mentioned it in the last day. And then, with most, only in passing.
This despite the fact that the repeal of PUHCA is by far the most critical piece of this most corrupt and cynical legislation. As Kelpie Wilson points out, a “trillion dollars worth of utility assets are about to be deregulated and no one knows about it.”
No one knows about it? Pretty much. Aside from the veritable press blackout on the issue, there have been few mentions in the blogosphere either. Other than Meteor Blades’ post which was frontpaged by Armando (thanks Armando) the energy bill has almost been ignored. Or perhaps drowned out by the almost Michael Jackson-esque obsession with Rove-gate.
Over Our Heads?
Perhaps there is just a barrier as to how far the blogosphere is willing to go on specific policy issues. Russ Feingold’s post today suggest that he seems to think so. I surely cannot be sure, but he told a friend of mine that PUHCA repeal was one of the main reasons he opposed the bill. Yet he doesn’t mention it here. I wonder why.
Or perhaps it’s that, in spite of our loathing of it, we still take our cues from the main stream press. I’ve often mused at the irony that while we relentlessly bash them for their bias and incompetence, possibly 95% of what we blog comes from corporate owned news outlets.
But if nothing else good comes out of this energy give away, we should use it to take a long hard look at the way we interact with and keep watch of the Congress. That a piece of legislation (PUHCA repeal) of such historic magnitude can fly through without hardly any notice from the press or the blogs should be a blatant reminder of how far we have to go in using this new technology of political communication and organization.
While we were almost obsessively focusing on every drip of news from the vastly interesting and important Plame affair, the powerful energy lobby were drinking umbrella drinks on the beach.
No Excuse
But while we took our eye off the ball, there was one powerful group that knew exactly what was going on: the Senate Democrats. Even if some could claim that their first vote, in June, was out of ignorance, their vote today certainly was not. This is because we emailed and wrote letters to every one begging them to vote nay.
I personally emailed every Democrat senator at least once. Fellow Kossak, Doolittle, even created a petition. There is no excuse.
As Meteor Blades pointed out in the only post to make it on the front page here (thanks to Armando), the Public Utility Holding Company Act took control of our national energy sector out of the hands of the Robber Barons like Sam Insull and J.P. Morgan and gave it to the American people.
Today, they gave it back.
Here are the Senate Democrats who voted for Big Money, Big Energy and against you.
Akaka (D-HI)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Byrd (D-WV)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Conrad (D-ND)
Dayton (D-MN)
Dodd (D-CT)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Johnson (D-SD)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (D-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Nelson (D-NE)
Obama (D-IL)
Pryor (D-AR)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Here are the Senate Democrats who first voted for the Energy Act last month and then voted against it when it was sure to pass anyway. Nice try.
Bayh (D-IN)
Biden (D-DE)
Boxer (D-CA)
Carper (D-DE)
Clinton (D-NY)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Kohl (D-WI)
Leahy (D-VT)
Murray (D-WA)
Reid (D-NV)
Sarbanes (D-MD)
Thank you.
…PUHCA in the penultimate paragraph of its mediocre story after the conference committee concluded its energy bill work.
I’m afraid we’ll both be able to say “we told you so” about the damage caused by this repeal before Bush’s second term is over.
that my little city owns it own power plant. I will fight hard and get other members of my community to mobilize if some big energy company decides that it wants to buy out our city power company.
Not one of those dems will see a dime of my money in their next election and I will push in every election that they are up for, to get a progressive dem to run against them and make sure that they know I am sending my progressive democratic money to their opponent because they have become repuglican light in their demise of social programs and new deal programs that have helped millions of americans over the years.
No more I say. Stand I say, fight, scream at them. Tell them in every possible way that no more money is going to the DNC from progressives. It is going directly to those candidates that support progressive ideals.
our country – and damaging our whole planet – so fast and on so many fronts that it’s hard not to just fall into apathetic despair.
At a more local level, our state lege is failing our school children once again, and while everyone is looking at the disaster know as school finance reform, SBC and Verizon are sneaking in a telecom bill that will have bad long-term consequences that no one seems to be noticing. It took me over a week to figure out enough about the bill to write a story about it for our local blog, because the what news stories there were about it were so inadequate and confusing.
Just like the Telecom Bill of 1996 is responsible for so much of what’s wrong with “the media” today, back when it was passed, few were paying attention, and most of the ones who were were totally clueless about the long-term consequences.
The repeal of the PUHCA will also be a disaster. It is so hard, so hard to get into place any kind of rational protections for the ordinary person and it can all be undone in an instant. As Sam Rayburn said, “It takes a carpenter to build a barn. Any jackass can kick it down.”
You and Meteor will be able to say, I told you so. But I know it’s going to be one of those, I was screaming at the train to stop and now I’m looking at the smoldering wreckage kind of I told you so’s.
There just aren’t enough hours in the day to fight these people.
the Democratic Party 🙂
Here in New Orleans recently developers wanted to dismantle yet another housing project for expensive condos and affordable housing. Iberville was built during the New Deal by FDR. We came together as a community and defeated this, for now. It does require eternal vigilance.
I’m wondering how to accomplish the creation of such a community on the national level, and address more than one issue at a time.
Your points on the blogs was well taken. A national community of activists involved in their home communities as well could be more effective. Blogs are a tool. The goal is building activist community network on the home and national front.
Biden (D-DE)
Boxer (D-CA)
Carper (D-DE)
Clinton (D-NY)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Kohl (D-WI)
Leahy (D-VT)
Murray (D-WA)
Reid (D-NV)
Sarbanes (D-MD)
Everyone on this list may pretend to be Liberal, but have just proven themselves to be corporate thugs of the finest calibre. Republicans in sheep’s clothing, as it were
I seriously have to wonder… Are Democrats going to have to get rid of all their senators to find any that are moderate, never mind progressive? It might’ve been simpler to make a list of the 8 (?) Democrats that voted against the legislation both times.
So much for the American people, line up to get your paws on as much of the peak oil profit as you can. Doesn’t bode well that the slate of legislation included:
Welcome back to the bad old robber baron, sharecropper company store days. What’s theirs is theirs, what’s yours is theirs, all neat and legal and tied up with legislative string. Who wants a big ol’ slice of American apple pie?
There’s a lot of hand wringing in comments to this diary, but few suggestions as to how to organize more effectively. Let’s hear your ideas. Just 8 comments in response to the loss of affordable energy in this country?