Want Some Wood

While I like to think of myself as a realist, it's also important to dream big, and to not limit political goals to what pundits and bloggers think is possible. It's important to remember that what's possible can change, sometimes with less time and resistance than anyone expects. One good example is the CAFE standard for car fuel efficiency. Bill Clinton tried unsuccessfully to increase the standard back in the 1990's, and the very idea of the standard was dismissed as "Stalinism" (according to Dan Becker, a Sierra Club lobbyist I met back then) by at least one auto manufacturer. Since then, the standard has been raised more than once by more than one administration, with the cooperation of automakers and with very little controversy. This will be a huge help in dealing with global warming and other environmental threats.

The gay-rights issue has seen similar evolution, and in a period of time that is short in historical terms. Bill Clinton could go no further than "don't ask, don't tell" in his efforts to end discrimination in the military; less than 20 years later, don't ask, don't tell" is itself history, and marriage discrimination may not be far behind it, especially with public opinion shifting in favor of it.

I think of these issues whenever people tell me that gun control or death penalty abolition are "losers" or "politically dead."

Labels: Bill Clinton, environment, Gun control, labor, media