Rusted Sky

Caught a few minutes of a Hillary Speech today. (What can I say - I wasn't fast enough changing stations.) In it, she was blasting Bush for not coming up with changes in our energy policy.

Of course, people were cheering her.

If you'd paid any attention over the last 8 years, you'll have noticed that every time Bush took on something large (Social Security reform, tax reform, energy reform) the Democrats stonewalled it like cracy. So, to the extent that we're still dependent on ME oil, the Democrats have kept us from pursuing something else. To the extent that we're going to have problems with Social Security - the Democrats have done their best to make it impossible to change things on THAT front.

Energy? About the ONLY thing they haven't visibly blocked is nuclear power - and the Greens have done the job there. (There's no reason to stick your political next out on the line when you can get a third partyy to do so, right?)

So I'm less than impressed at Hillary's attempt to demagoge an issue that SHE and her party have helped bring about.

Now, your mileage may vary but my impression of the Democrats over the last two, three decades is that they will NOT solve a problem if it can be used for election fodder. And in view of the fact that Hillary is NOW blaming Bush for a situation she and her fellow Democrats helped create, you can understand why I'm less than confident that she'll be able to take care of the problem.

But there's folks trying to deal with it -

Nuclear Energy Institute Update Shows Plants Pave Clean Road for Nuke Power - Florida Electrical Outage - Popular Mechanics

The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) just offered its annual outlook for the future of nuclear power, and it’s optimistic—partly of necessity. Today’s 104 nuclear power plants generate about 20 percent of electricity in the United States. Due to rising energy demand and aging infrastructure, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission predicts that industry will need to build 50 new reactors to continue producing the same proportion of the country’s power over the next 30 years.

Most of these plants have gotten past the glint-in-the-eye stage: Thirty-one reactors, representing 17 power companies and consortia, are somewhere in the application process—though NEI predicts only four to eight of those will be in commercial operation by 2016. By that time, pressure for an affordable, clean source of energy could inspire a second wave of applications. “Coal with carbon sequestration looks more like 20 years away than 15,” says John Rowe, CEO of Exelon, the largest nuclear power provider in the United States. “Wind and solar are still more expensive than nuclear.”

You might think I'm being too hard on the Dems... but really, what HAVE they managed to solve? Obama's record is pretty much empty. So is Hillary's. JKerry's record... 20 years in Congress and nothin'.

And those people are considered the best and brightest the Democrats have to offer?

Man, how they've managed to go downhill...

J.