Poli Sci Theater 2009

By Carter Bundy

As most political junkies know, my union has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. So I fully expect this post will be read with the understanding that I’m not just in Iowa City to get the skinny on what really happened with Steve Alford – although that is a cool side benefit of being in the center of Hawkeye Nation.

Of course, many of the readers (and anonymous commentators) of this and similar political blogs have horses in any number of races, especially this year in New Mexico, so that comes with the territory.

After over a week in Iowa, one thing is striking: how generally pleased many Dems are with their choices for president. I can’t really speak to the GOP side because I haven’t run into too many Republicans, but I’ve met a fair number of Dems and the general atmosphere is one of optimism and, above all, energy.

Rock-and-roll high school

Of particular note was the Jefferson-Jackson dinner last Saturday. Thousands of Iowans, as well as people who have come from all over America to support candidates, descended on Des Moines to hear the six Democratic candidates running campaigns in Iowa speak.

It was a bizarre combination of high-school basketball game, high-school prom and the highest-stakes political event in years. Thousands of signs, printed and handmade, were duct-taped to every available surface, including almost every inch of ceiling.

That’s to say nothing of, literally, the cheerleaders for each candidate running up and down the aisles to coach the fans in each section about what to say at what parts of speeches. Or the chants – “We’ve got spirit, yes we do, we’ve got spirit, how ‘bout YOU!” – that actually (and somewhat strangely) seemed a bit more organic.

I almost expected an appearance from the Ridgemont High Spirit Bunnies. One enterprising campaign based in Albuquerque even chalked the steps leading to the building. That had to be good for some extra credit. If you liked high school, there’s no way you wouldn’t have loved last Saturday night in Des Moines.

Unified theory of energy

Slightly goofy political-science/high-school theater aside, it was a meaningful night not for the cheers that divided the hall but for the ones that united it.

The pundits were all talking the next day about how Barack Obama is sharpening his elbows for a stretch-run with Hillary, and how Hillary is trying to distance herself from Obama with experience. But the real story, it seemed to me, was the near-unanimous agreement on policy, particularly with respect to energy.

One thing every Dem emphasized was that a new, high-tech energy policy can set this country back on track on a number of fronts. Clinton trumpeted the economic gains from a bold energy plan. Bill Richardson talked about the environment. Others mentioned the importance of oil independence for our foreign policy and health.

Dems are acing their energy final, and the people assigning grades in Iowa are noticing. Go to the doors in Iowa, and the voters are focused on health care, the war and jobs. They don’t say much about energy in polls.

That doesn’t mean energy’s not registering: Dems have figured out that alternative energy is a positive way to tie all of the big issues of the day together. They’re talking solutions, and that’s generating an attitude among Iowa Dems that they’ve got a great group of people from whom to choose.

We all get that New Mexico is an oil and gas state, but it’s also a sunshine, wind and geothermal state. The GOP’s obsession with fossil fuels is going to contribute to making them fossils at the federal and state levels if they don’t lean over and sneak a peek at the Dems’ notes.

Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce may want to get their heads out of the tar pits on this one. Did those checks from Exxon-Mobil already clear?

The revolution will not be televised. Yet.

Maybe the least commented-upon major scientific development in ages was the discovery by scientists at Penn State of a means of efficiently generating clean-burning hydrogen from biodegradable, organic sources.

If the study was on TV, it wasn’t for more than one-tenth the news-cycle length devoted to the latest update on Britney Spears’ weekend clubbing.

Good for the Nittany Lions, or whatever the scientists there call themselves. Turns out that investing in universities can do a heck of a lot for taxpayers, and not just in football.

The breakthrough was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. I really can’t vouch for PNAS personally, but it sounds impressive. You can read an article about it by clicking here.

We’re on the verge of a major revolution in energy. As with civil rights, personal liberty, trade policy, fiscal responsibility and war, the national GOP is taking the country in the wrong direction.

Its leaders don’t see what virtually everyone else in America sees: that we’ll be a healthier, wealthier, safer country when the energy revolution finally gets here.

The revolution is not being televised, but after seeing the Iowa Dems’ energy on energy up close, I’d wager it gets more than its 15 minutes of fame come January 2009.

Bundy is the political and legislative director for AFSCME in New Mexico. The opinions in his column are personal and do not necessarily reflect any official AFSCME position. You can learn more about him by clicking here. Contact him at carterbundy@yahoo.com.