Milquetoast Democratic Action Expands Globally

Looks like the world is taking lessons from the Democrats:

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon conceded Wednesday that the United States had succeeded in achieving one of its key objectives at the climate conference here, blocking a proposal that called on industrialized nations to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 25 to 40 percent by 2020.

Having jettisoned the idea of incorporating specific emissions targets in the framework that will guide international climate talks over the next two years, participants were hoping to find other ways to make meaningful progress here in the two-week-long meeting of nearly 190 nations.

The world is figuring out that an obstinate, ornery, obstructionist party of NO wields a lot of power. The Bush team and the Republicans in Congress don't play by the rules. And nobody's ever changed the rules on them to outmaneuver them. I agree with Rep. Wexler, impeachment hearings would be a chip the Congress could use to force compliance.

"The way we pass stem-cell research, the way we get implemented a children's health care plan, the way we get higher CAFE [corporate average fuel economy] standards to bring our energy debacle into a better condition for generations to come is to have impeachment hearings," Wexler said, appearing to nearly run out breath at one point during his speech. "Because that'll get the president's eye. That'll get the vice president's eye. That for the first time will show that the Democratic majority is here, and that in fact we have the courage of our convictions, and that we're not bound to be tied by conventional wisdom."

Somebody needs to change the game on these folks. There are too few leaders around the nation and around the world willing to do that.

UPDATE: Al Gore says what's needed to be said.

“My own country the United States is principally responsible for obstructing progress in Bali.”