“A choice, not an echo,” has been used in political campaigns by both major parties. It was first used by the 1884 campaign of Democrat Grover Cleveland, and used again 80 years later as a slogan in the 1964 campaign of Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. This slogan was meant to draw attention to very basic differences with the other major party, its candidates, and its policies.
Alas, as is true with our present-day president when it comes to so many issues, especially those involving the economy, we usually hear not a real choice, just a dull echo of the other guys. Obama’s latest me-too involves oil drilling.
With the public riled up abut high gas prices, and Republicans singing their old “drill, baby, drill” number, Obama just announced a plan to open more public lands to oil drilling. He acted as if there were no alternative to this echo, no real choice, when it comes to reducing our dependence of foreign oil and its inevitable high costs.
When of course there are lots of better choices.
No, he couldn’t propose higher gas taxes the way they’ve done in Europe, and which have done so much to reduce its own oil consumption by promoting conservation. Not in today’s recession economy. And this being America, maybe never here. But…
But instead of more drilling on public lands, Obama could have proposed higher CAFE standards. He could have pushed for more funds for urban public transportation. He could have pointed again to his high-speed rail program and repackaged it as a save-on-oil measure. He could have proposed an excess profits tax on the oil industry that would generate revenue to pay for more public transportation and that high-speed rail program.
There are a lot of other choices available here as well. Ones with a more ecologically sound, more economically generative potential than drill, baby, drill. From this Democratic President, though, what we get instead is a Republican echo.
What we get from Mr. Change and Hope, in so many realms in fact, is a hopeless, changeless, more of the same of what the other guy is saying.
Is there a plausible third party candidate in the house? You know, you really might win in 2012. Really.
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