Ruy Teixeira writes a Substack column called The Liberal Patriot. Today he is on about "abundance," the title of a recent book and a policy which several keen observers are recommending the Democrat Party adopt as a mantra.
Today Teixeira writes that the Dems are too committed to Net Zero and the green agenda to stomach the fast, efficient growth which the abundance agenda envisions. Some key quotes:
From the profound shortage of housing where America needs it most, to our shockingly expensive and slow infrastructure projects, this country is not delivering what its people need.
In some alternative universe there may be a Democratic Party for whom this (abundance) would be an easy sell. But this Democratic Party in this universe? I have my doubts.
The culprit is a Democratic Party that puts ideology and special interests ahead of good governance. It is committed to ensuring that development is not socially harmful in any way, and does not transgress the interests of any “stakeholders.” In reality, that amounts to a promise that nothing will get done.
Cheap, reliable, plentiful energy must necessarily underpin any abundance agenda worthy of the name.
The Democrats’ base is now educated liberal whites, especially women, for whom a vision of lovely green abundance that doesn’t include distasteful things like “big-ass trucks” is an article of faith. (snip) This vision is not shared by massive numbers of Latino, young, and working-class voters.
The more I read what Teixeira writes, the more I see a man talking himself out of being a Democrat. He even admits Trump is pursuing some of the abundance agenda. My question is can he allow himself to become a MAGA Republican where the abundance agenda is known as "common sense"? Full disclosure: I've happily owned six of those "big-ass trucks," one after another since 1983, driven them all over North America, and loved them all.
