Every once in a while I’m in my car around lunchtime, and when I am, I listen to Rush Limbaugh. That happened today and I heard Rush say something very simple, very true, and very much ignored by most of what we hear from all sides in the media: congress makes the (federal) laws.

(Which reminds me that I read recently that some poll found that most Americans think that the republicans control Congress.)

But we have all of this campaign rhetoric trumpeting how this or that presidential candidate will change the laws to make them fairer, or better. And in the meantime, I don’t hear anybody talking about the power of congress. And precious little about how Congress has created the system that allowed the economic crisis we find ourselves in to happen in the first place.

And today I read an article from the Heritage Foundation giving more background on how Congress has shaped the failed energy policy that we are laboring under now:

If Washington really wanted to help Detroit, they could end the regulatory nightmare that prevents profitable, fuel-efficient cars from reaching market. For example, Ford is going to sell a car that gets 65 miles per gallon starting in November. But this car will only be available in Europe. Why? Because the car runs on diesel and environmentalists here in the United States have fought to keep diesel taxes high and refinery capacity low. As a result, the car would just not be profitable here in America. A national energy policy that afforded Detroit more engineering options to make more fuel-efficient cars wouldn’t cost the taxpayers a cent and would undoubtedly create more jobs and reduce our oil consumption.

Meanwhile, speaker Pelosi has continued to showcase her ignorance on energy by referring to natural gas as an alternative to fossil fuels, while, along with Harry Reid, using her power to bully republicans who had been trying to bring energy bills up for debate by shutting the lights off.

And now Harry Reid says nobody knows what to do.
What a circus.

Cross-posted at www.steamvalveblog.com