"Think, Baby, Think!"- A Guest Post By Fred Johnson (D-MI)

One of the smartest candidates running for the House this year is Dr. Fred Johnson in western Michigan, for a seat being abandoned by the ever-ambitious twitterer Pete Hoekstra. Last month he did a great guest post at DWT on education and societal priorities and if you missed it, I recommend it strongly. Today he took a serious look at the tenor of American politics and gave me permission to share it. He also gave me something else-- a book he wrote with Tayannah Lee McQuillar, Tupac Shakur: The Life And Times Of An American Icon. I bet there aren't too many other members of Congress who could even tell you who Tupac was. In any case, this particular book he sent me is autographed and everyone who donates to Fred's campaign today (24 hours) will be entered into a drawing to win the book, complements of DWT. You can contribute here. Here's Fred's post:

Recently, while watching news about the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, followed by more reports from Arizona about one of the most radical, anti-person laws of the last 50 years, I wondered, “Where are the rational voices among the Republicans in Congress?” Rather than serious discussions about taking substantive measures to, once and for all, make America energy independent, protect the environment, and strengthen national security, the mantra persists: “Drill, baby, drill!”
 
That refrain, however, is far different from what voters-- Democrats and Republicans-- have been telling me over the last two weeks. Voters in Michigan’s 2nd Congressional District understand that the environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and the immigration debacle in Arizona have changed the calculus on energy and immigration policy. Many local leaders acknowledge that people see the oil spill, and the protests against Arizona's SB 1070, as pointing to an urgent need for practical reform. Here in West Michigan, folks from both parties are already pursuing wind power projects for energy independence and environmental sustainability. Even our farmers know that we need a fair immigration system, including rational rules for temporary workers, so that they can get their crops in from the fields and out to market. But Congress refuses to speed up the pace on energy and immigration reform. Why?
 
There are many answers, but certainly a chief obstacle is that pressure from the extreme right wing/Tea Party ideologues prevents any Republican from adopting a reasonable, rational position. Consider the once admirable career of John McCain. Previously the promoter of immigration reform, and someone who campaigned in the Michigan primary as a clean energy supporter, he has distanced himself from himself. His apprehensions concerning J.D. Hayworth's far right primary challenge have caused him to attempt to out-pander his opponent. This is the situation that rejects a reality in which the vast majority of voters see that America desperately needs a new and robust approach to resolving its challenges pertaining to energy and immigration. Instead, right wing ideologues prefer the path of expediency. The pattern repeats itself in primary after primary. Never mind the needs of the country.
 
It’s going to be up to the voters to, once more, call the bluff of those who prefer to distract with fear and simple slogans rather than courage, hope, and vision. Only then will the right wing ideologues understand that rather than “Drill, baby, drill!” the people want leaders who prefer to “Think, baby, think!”