If we’re going to bash politicians for not living up to their promises, we need to acknowledge them when they do. If we’re going to have low expectations for our elected officials, we should acknowledge them when they surprise us and meet those expectations. Otherwise, frankly, we’re just gripers.
The flip side, of course, is when they DO surpass expectation, the bar goes up for the next time.
The US House Dems met their 100 hour goal for enacting several emblematic pieces of legislation; minimum wage hike, 9-11 commission recommendations, ethics reform etc. Most striking to me was the one that got the least attention; the multi-billion dollar smackdown of the oil industry. From Canada.com (hey, why not?):
The U.S. House of Representatives rolled back billions of dollars in oil industry subsidies Thursday in what supporters hailed as a new direction in energy policy toward more renewable fuels.
Democrats said the legislation could produce as much as $15 billion in revenue. Most of that money would pay to promote renewable fuels such as solar and wind power, alternative fuels including ethanol and biodiesel and incentives for conservation.
So yeah, I’m impressed. I guess at the end of the day, I didn’t really expect squat. Now I do, and I will continue to expect more – but not just from Washington.
Democrats in Montpelier have a similarly unfriendly Chief Executive to worry about, but enjoy a far more powerful majority than their Washington counterparts. And as complex as State governance is, it is nowhere near the behemoth that is the federal government. Obviously state lawmakers don’t have the staff support that federal lawmakers do, but I still think it’s reasonable to expect that if Democrats in Washington can accomplish significant, substantive improvements in a matter of hours, Democrats in Montpelier can manage comparable feats over a four month session.
Unfortunately, last session revealed a caucus that was often loathe to walk and chew gum at the same time. Against the roar of health care, other progressive priorities were left by the wayside. That’s not to say other legislation didn’t go through – some of it significant, but often, caucus leadership decided to ration its legislative attentions very cautiously. This presumably irrefutable inability to multitask was one of the prime excuses we heard for letting the Jefferson’s Manual impeachment bill languish and die.
Already the signs are disturbing. This time, climate change is the banner cause – an important one, to be sure, but it shouldn’t be used as an issue to mollify the liberal base and hide from other sticky, but also urgent, priorities. For example, word is that health care will not be revisited. This may be practical (the potentially veto-proof non-Republican majority may not stand up to real, comprehensive reform), or it may simply be a dodge. In either case, the Washington Dems 100-hour priorities may well fall themselves to the veto pen, but it clearly didn’t stop them from giving it their best shot, nonetheless – yet another bar-raising effect that can’t help but trickle down to the local level.
Also, it’s likely only a matter of days before the impeachment debate returns with a new bill on the wall.
And there’s agriculture, Vermont Yankee – and of course property tax will be elbowing itself in.
The Washington Dems have shown us that a lot of balls can be succesfully juggled at once – and quickly. There is no reason to expect anything less from our local representation.
