National politics can seem very remote to the day-to-day local concerns of our area. As the presidential campaign devolves into a depressingly familiar fight over god, guns, and gays, it is easy to dismiss the whole mess as a decision that doesn't really matter one way or the other. And on those narrow terms, it doesn't. Americans will continue to worship one god or another, fire guns, and sit in judgment of others' sex lives no matter who wins. But two days ago, national politics hit home in a way that illustrates how this election does matter in a very direct way.

For years, Congressman Maurice Hinchey has been working to make Ulster County a center for solar energy research and development. He was instrumental in the organization and launch of The Solar Energy Consortium, or TSEC, a partnership of industry, government, and educational institutions whose mission is to foster innovation in solar energy research and to help bring manufacturers and jobs to our area. TSEC was launched last year and has already brought one manufacturer, Prism Solar Technologies — along with a commitment of 400 jobs — to Ulster County. The initiative is working, and is a case study of how federal dollars can be used to help an area in economic distress.

On Tuesday, the United States House of Representatives passed a comprehensive energy bill that provided, among many other things, continued funding for alternative energy initiatives like TSEC. In addition, the bill offered a compromise on the current disagreement over offshore drilling, and closed some loopholes oil companies have exploited to avoid paying taxes. We can all agree that there has never been so great a need as now to develop new sources of energy, and this bill is a modest attempt to get the country on that track. The Democrat-led effort passed on a party line vote, immediately infuriating the Republicans. Why were they furious, just days after their convention that featured a chant of "Drill baby, drill!" by Rudy Giuliani? Well, it's not because of anything to do with energy policy: huge tracts of coastline were opened to drilling by this bill, as well as millions of acres of federal land in the west for oil shale development. No, the fury comes from losing a weapon with which to attack their opponents, and that is all that matters in September in an election year.

While the Democrats' motivations for compromising on offshore drilling may be strategic as well, the net result is a good one: passage of a bill that will help the country end its addiction to foreign oil. The same cannot be said of their opponents. The Republicans and George Bush have vowed to stop the bill, either by filibuster in the Senate or outright veto by the President…placing their election-year needs far above the needs of the country. As of press time, all indications are that party politics will kill this legislation.

Nevertheless, Hinchey's solar energy initiative will continue, but with much less access to funding. Hence, prospects for finding tenants for abandoned manufacturing facilities in Wawarsing and Kingston will be that much more diminished. With the killing of the bill, the federal tax incentive for installing solar panels will expire in a few months, making it much more expensive for Hudson Valley homeowners and businesses to generate their own power…all in a time of $4 per gallon gas and energy bills that cannot be paid on middle-class salaries. So when you hear one un-named politician piously claim his candidacy is all about "Country First," keep in mind what his party has done with this bill and ask yourself, this question: just what country is he talking about?

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