Power, Democratic style

An aging, entrenched Democratic leader lost a major battle this week, and it was great news for both the Democratic Party and for Detroit. After 15 years of being told by a Republican Congress that government is the cause of every problem, and hate is the simple answer, the debate in Congress about fuel efficiency standards brings us back to real life.

Republicans largely kept out of the fuel economy debate, because there was nothing there for them. Inaction by government had already been tried, and failed miserably. American car makers, failing to please even their American customers, are losing market share and seem powerless to stop it. There's no one for the Republicans to hate in this debate: they can't hate the Japanese, whose cars they love and whose success they admire; they can't hate labor unions, which have largely disappeared as an economic force; they can't hate incompetent corporate leadership because, well, they're Republicans. I thought they might find a way to blame gay marriage or brown-skinned people, but so far that hasn't stuck.

Earlier this year the Bush Administration made a lame attempt to take a position in the debate by asking for authority to allow auto makers to set their own fuel economy standards, thus prolonging government inaction. Fortunately, it was ignored. It hasn't been heard from since.

With a problem like this, there are no simple answers and no substitute for hard work. There's no purely partisan solution, either. Detroit for decades has relied on Democratic Congressman John Dingell, and others of a protectionist ilk in both parties, to preserve its declining market and help it ignore matters like globalization and climate change. In the Democratic Party the opposite of protectionism is represented by the neo-liberal wing, which you might have expected would be supportive of the Bush laissez-faire approach. But they weren't. What makes the debate complex is that there are more than just those two simple choices.

What Speaker Nancy Pelosi has realized is that government can neither ignore Detroit nor coddle it. The third choice is to reinforce the demand of American consumers for more fuel-efficient cars. Americans want to spend less for energy without having to go to war for it. They want Detroit to start doing its part on climate change. They want American automakers to stop following the Japanese, and start leading again. Detroit might feel comfortable milking the last profit out of a declining SUV market, but Americans say that's not good enough.

So did Detroit lose the battle over fuel economy standards? Listen to General Motors Corp. Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner:

There are tough, new CAFE standards contained in the energy bill before Congress that pose a significant technical and economic challenge to the industry. But, it's a challenge that GM is prepared to put forth its best effort to meet with an array of engineering, research and development resources. We will continue our aggressive pursuit of advance technologies that will deliver more products with more energy solutions to our customers.

That doesn't sound like a loser to me. It sounds like someone who knows he's been slacking, who needs some "tough love" in the form of a strong government partner to help him, push him, to mend his ways.

Pelosi's action on fuel economy standards is the first hint of the change in direction we've been expecting. A Democratic president and Democratic Congress will neither be lazy nor protectionist. They will be active in asserting the public interest. That's power, Democratic style.