Bush Backlash Helping Democrats in the West

Yesterday, the Los Angeles Times editorial board wrote a nice piece on how Democrats are making gains in the Rocky Mountain region. The praise for Democrats was terrific - but the article did not fully explore the other side of the coin. Namely, that President Bush's policies that screw the West are helping fuel the uprising.

Today's example is the White House's efforts to stiff consumers, hunters and anglers in the region. According to the Missoulian, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, a congressionally-mandated agency, issued a report noting that the Bush budget "could gut fish and wildlife programs, dim plans for alternative energies and raise rates for consumers." Specifically, the White House wants to require federally-owned dams "to sell power at private market-based rates, driving up the price for consumers by some 40 percent." It also wants to limit the amount the Bonneville Power Administration can borrow, "resulting in either cost-shaving that could cut out progressive programs or rate increases to supplement the lost borrowing capacity." BPA has "historically relied on long-term debt to make investments without incurring rate increases" on consumers.

In other words, Bush is trying to raise energy prices for Rocky Mountain consumers, just a few years after his pals at Enron stole billions from these same ratepayers. He is also trying to worsen conditions for hunters and anglers in the region - an idiotic strategy that his fellow Republicans at the local level are stupidly following. The more Bush and the Republicans move down this extremist path, the more they create the kind of backlash situation that could create a Democratic tidal wave in this region.