John Dingell Needs to Go
By Jamie Henn - Nov 11th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
The fight over the House Energy and Commerce Committee took a new turn today, as news came out that John Dingell (D-MI) has hired K-street lobbyists to play defense against Rep. Henry Waxman’s bid to take control of the influential committee. Dingell has a reputation for blocking progress on climate , whereas Waxman (D-CA) has been a consistent champion for the cause.
What’s a stake? Energy was a huge issue in this year’s election and it’s going to be a big topic in the coming Congress. And with good reason: we’re hemorrhaging billions of dollars because of our dependence on dirty fossil fuels and the climate is going into conniptions. A recent scientific report was published this week that shows we’re well passed the safe level of C02 in the atmosphere, 350 ppm. We need a comprehensive energy and climate bill stat, and Dingell’s (soon to be former?) committee will play a big role.
I think it’s time for Dingell to go. If we’re going to take the necessary dramatic action on energy and climate it’s going to take inspired leadership. Dingell’s long ties to the auto-industry, his industry friendly approach to legislation, and his mediocre proposals on climate don’t inspire confidence. To Wax-poetic, the congressman from California might just be the change we need.
Rep. John Dingell is Dingell-saurus according to activists in the picture on the right.
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November 11th, 2008 at 5:54 pm