Presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) recently complained that President George W. Bush never capitalized on the bipartisan political climate after September 11, 2001. The country was united, she said at a town hall in Concord, New Hampshire, so why didn't the president use that unity to enact some economic legislation?
.@amyklobuchar, in Concord, N.H.: President Bush should have used his political capital from 9/11 to enact a carbon tax, “but instead he asked people to go shopping.” pic.twitter.com/qVvev8BFuw
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) February 5, 2020
"After that, the world was united," he said. "The country was united. And I remember President Bush looked at everyone and he could have asked them to do anything and they could have done it. And one of the things we could have done back then was say, this terrorism came from countries that we don't want to be dependent on for their foreign oil, so why don't we do a carbon tax. Put that money into developing our own renewable energy. I swear to God 80 percent of the country at that moment would have said yes, would have seen it as patriotism."
But instead, she lamented, President Bush "asked people to go shopping."
We can think of a few reasons why he didn't try and push any policy agenda.
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After Pearl Harbor, FDR gave a speech about infamy when he instead could’ve passed new solar and wind initiatives.
— Razor (@hale_razor) February 5, 2020
Klobuchar had a solid showing in Iowa this week, nearly tying former vice president Joe Biden for fourth. Or at least, we think she did. The party is still trying to count votes. But, she's still pacing far behind the frontrunners, Sens. Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
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