Confusing Caucuses

Probably like any Brit, I find the caucus process of choosing a presidential candidate baffling. Personally I think it was the complexity of the process that got Bush nominated eight years ago, everyone thought they were voting against him but were so confused by the system that whoops he got to be the candidate. Either that or the Republican Party did it as a joke. Lets see if we can get bush in, as at least he will generate employment for satirists.

However, at the very least this year will see an end to the Bush presidency, so no matter who ultimately gains the nominations democracy will win.

Back when Bush was being nominated, I was criticised for saying anything about American politics. Had I been someone of real influence then I could understand that prospective, however as the rest of the world is effected by whom ever becomes the next president of the US, I am entitled to my opinion. This time round though I don’t have any preference. Hillary Clinton, from what I have seen and heard looks to be the most environmentally aware, but is America ready to elect a woman? Then there is Barack Obama, the first black American who stands a realistic chance of being elected. When we think back to the 1960s and see just how black people were treated then and compare that to the progress that has been made in forty years shows hope for us all, particularly if we think about the environment.

I have been and still will be critical of the Bush Government here, as while the individual states and cities are trying to tackle the challenges of Climate change, the federal government had done their level best to block any action on tackling climate change.

Not only to ensure balance, but its worth noting something I heard the Republican candidate, Mike Huckabee say; he was critical of the way that big business has a hold on the political system and the current incumbent of the White House. Something that no government should ever allow to happen as the government, any government, then becomes beholden to donors. Just look at the difficulties here with the suspicions that peerages were being sold here in the UK. While no charges were brought following the long police investigation, it looked and smelled bad. In America the vested interests of the oil and car companies has blocked the federal government from even considering climate change as a problem.

Yet if America looked at the problems from a different perspective they could see the real advantage of going green. With oil now at over $100 per barrel the federal government could force car manufactures to make more efficient cars. The manufactures already can do it, it’s just that over the last twenty years they have gone for more powerful engines, rather than more economy. The average could be forty miles per gallon in eighteen months. That would save the average American five hundred dollars per year. That’s an Economic policy! Or to put it another way, America would no longer need any oil from the Gulf States. How many billions of American tax payers dollars would that have saved? That’s without thinking of the lives lost, both American and Iraqi.

Also think of the costs of medical conditions like asthma, less petroleum burnt the lower the pollution that causes this asthma. Further, conditions like that damage the economy by lost workdays and loss of productivity to use an economist’s language.

Further, by tackling climate change by genuinely saving energy, America could make its own businesses and industries more competitive, thus improving the bottom line for everyone. If the US invested in developing sustainable energy generation, the whole nation could benefit as the US could become technology leaders, selling the know how and plant around the world. That’s a Policy for energy security!

Also if the US started instigating a programme of fitting solar panels, photo voltaic and solar thermal to all homes, they could deal with problems like unemployment and poverty by training unemployed people to carry out the work. That’s an Employment Policy!

The advantages of being more environmentally aware are quite simple, if Americans can understand their electoral system then going green must be a No Brainier.