A Sandwich of Political Defeat

I lived this week in a sandwich of political defeat.  I watched two fantastic bills be killed by the same committee.  Both, were relevant to environmentalists and both carefully articulated the need for energy efficient building designs due to economic concerns.  Even couched in the language of cost savings energy efficiency in not palpable in the Idaho legislature.  The Chairmen of the committee, who is on the energy task force that unanimously sent one of the bills to the committee in the first place, ensured the bill was held with his tie breaking "no" vote. (although it was not as heroic as all that) he slipped out of that tie, watching for cues from party leadership, clearly unable to think and act on his own.

I was disgusted.  I grew up trained in critical argumentation.  When I used to debate it was mostly a simple case, even in the more complex rounds of "Win the arguments, Win the debate" that doesn't happen here.  You can cream the competition and still lose.  A person with little expertise, or savvy in the language and intent of legislation can form a barely articulated position of opposition and the bill will be dead.  

There is the possibility that a watered down version of the 2nd bill will pass, and at first that pleased me.  But I was talking to some activist energy folks about that and they said it would just be better to say that the majority party killed all energy efficiency legislation.  Why pass a bill that does nothing (and it looks like the bill is getting close to a complete removal of any significant mandate)?  I'm not sure, perhaps a small step will get these guys closer to the edge--either pushing them to realization (unlikely) or pushing them out (all I hope for right now).

So which pathway is it?  Do we hold firm to our standards, insist that legislation remain potent and true to its intent or do we compromise and find satisfaction in symbolic tiny steps towards recognition that there is  a severe energy crisis (statewide, nationally, globally)?  Idaho is already behind, already moving backwards by virtue of not moving forwards...soon there may not be a choice, soon we may not be left with a chance to change policy...because we will be searching for modes to power our lives.  The comfort zone will shrink, options will be limited, resources scarce, need will outweigh civility.  I don't know how far away this is but it feels close.

Maybe I am watching the reels of a movie whose plot and moral has already been filmed.  The final reels of a story whose historical significance has already found its place.  The voices fade, the color recedes, this is the final chapter, the frame repeats...repeats, shudders and is gone.