Since MoveOn endorsed Hillary Clinton’s opponent, it’s hardly surprising that Clinton has not-so-nice things to say about MoveOn. But the bad dynamic between Clinton and MoveOn is a reminder of one of the fundamental problems with her candidacy. The Clintons, and many of their key supporters, come out of a school of political analysis which holds that the problem with the Democratic Party in the United States is that progressive institutions are too strong. Only by curbing the influence of these institutions, the theory goes, can Democratic Party politicians engage in the tactical repositioning necessary to win elections.

Whether or not that was true in 1988-92 or, indeed, whether or not it remains true today, this is clearly not a long-term strategy for progressive politics. This “crush the left, move to the right” theory of electoral political may or may not work for politicians in the short run, but to create big change you need to strengthen progressive institutions and move the entire spectrum to the left.

A new Government Accountability Office opinion released yesterday finds that the Bush administration “violated federal law last year when it restricted states’ ability to provide health insurance to children of middle-income families, and its new policy is therefore unenforceable.” Twenty-two states already provide such coverage or want to do so, and several states have filed lawsuits challenging the Bush administration’s rules.

Earlier this week, President Bush outlined a new global warming plan calling for a
“national goal” to halt the growth of U.S. carbon emissions by 2025. Essentially, this policy would allow unchecked growth in emissions until that point, at which point, Bush has the “goal” of stopping the rate of growth of those emissions.

The administration’s plan was warmly received by Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), the Senate’s biggest global warming skeptic, and even Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT). But Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) is having none of it. Thursday, on PBS’s Charlie Rose, Schwarzenegger sharply rebuked Bush: “this administration is just not really with the program”:

We have to go and make decisions today. Time is running out there’s an urgency there. This is the important thing here. For him to say we should start really reducing greenhouse gases by the year 2025, by that time we’ll have no more glacier left. By that time, our sea level will be rising. We will be in a dangerous situation. I think it is somewhat irresponsible. I think the action is now.

Watch out:

Bush’s “new” climate change policy is really more of the same. The Wonk Room’s Brad Johnson explained how Bush’s plan pales in comparison to the effectiveness of programs our allies are implementing:

The IPCC has recommended that industrialized countries need to reduce emissions by 25 percent to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.

Relive the White House’s seven years of climate policy failures here.

This week on Fox News, Neil Cavuto asked Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) about the worth of rescinding an 18-cent gas tax as prices at the pump escalate this summer. McCain responded that “a lot of our problems today” are “psychological” — even the “ability to keep our own home”:

I’m very concerned about it, Neil. And obviously the way it’s been going up is just terrible. But I think psychologically — and a lot of our problems today, as you know, are psychological — the confidence, trust, the uncertainty about our economic future, ability to keep our own home. This might give them a little psychological boost. Let’s have some straight talk, it’s not a huge amount of money.

Watch it:

While he now states that America is in a recession, McCain earlier this year dismissed such concerns as “psychological.”

To find out how little money McCain’s gas tax “holiday” really delivers for average Americans, go to the Wonk Room.

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