The Political Climate: an ongoing commentary on the NH Primary and Climate Change

Bill Richardson is out with another of his “job interview” tv spots. This one focuses on global warming and the progress made in New Mexico during his governorship. Why is this notable? Governor Richardson is now the second Democratic candidate (Dodd was the first) in the press- and poll-designated “second tier” to try to distinguish himself from the pack by touting his experience dealing with climate change. This is encouraging as it is an acknowledgement by the people with the most at stake (the candidate, his staff) that global warming is a crucial issue in the primary and one that allows their candidate to separate from a pack that agrees on so much (Iraq, immigration, etc.)

There is some interesting commentary on the web about Democrats and global warming. First, at the American Prospect’s blog, Ezra Klein talks about how Democrats’ unifying national security issue is global warming (it’s under the heading, “Energy for All.”) The NY Times is scathing in its assessement of congressional Democrats’ work on global warming, laying most of the blame on Michigan congressman John Dingell who is intent on protecting his constituency (i.e. the automotive industry) at the expense of real progress on global warming. Interestingly, they point to acid rain legislation during the first President Bush’s administration as a model for how to, if not bring Dingell around, at least encourage him to step aside. Of course, this echoes how the Acid Rain Resolution effort in 1983 was a precursor to the NH Climate Change Resolution effort this year. Hopefully Dingell’s congressional efforts will continue this parallel.