Democrats told to hide their energy agenda

Washington Times:

House Democrats neared a deal Thursday on a bill to combat global warming, but a top party strategist warned that to sell any plan to voters they'll need to change the way they pitch it -- including curbing the use of the term "green" jobs and even talk of "global warming."

In a strategy memo, Democratic think tank Third Way and top party strategist Stanley Greenberg warned Democrats that swing voters don't care about fighting global warming, and said terms like "cap-and-trade" are useless. Instead, the memo suggests that Democrats tap into Americans' optimism that clean energy can help improve the faltering economy.

"For most voters, global warming is not significant enough on its own to drive support for major energy reform," the memo says. "So while it can be part of the story that reform advocates are telling, global warming should be used only in addition to the broader economic frame, not in place of it."

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"We have an idea for a conceptual understanding that we are now looking at in more detail, and I think that we're almost there," Mr. Waxman told reporters, though he wouldn't provide any details.

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Say what?

This thing is going to be a political disaster for Democrats and they are only now starting to comprehend how big it will be. Control freak regulation that will drive up the cost of living every American should be a tough sell. But, for too long, the media and the Democrats have acted like their energy policy was a fore gone conclusion only stymied by the Bush White House. Now they find that the public was much closer to Bush on the issue so they are trying to disguise their energy agenda with framing.