The Lieberman-Warner-Boxer climate change bill was soundly booted out of the Senate today -- and with good reason. While Americans have indicated that they are concerned about the risks of global warming, they don't want big, new federal bureaucracies with complex rules that will suck-up tons of money and waste it. While it may come as a shock to some, the fact is that hundreds of new federal mandates are not the answer to every important policy question. That was proven true today -- and it is still going to be true next year, no matter who is in the Congress or the White House.

By the way, haven't we seen this movie before? Go back to 1993 and the drama that was HillaryCare. The American public expressed clear concerns about the availability and cost of health insurance -- and the response was a big, new federal bureaucracy with complex rules that would suck-up tons of money and waste it. That idea dropped like a rock and, most importantly, set-back the cause of smart healthcare reform for 15 years (and counting).

Anyone who is concerned about energy security and climate change should take note. If you aren't looking for HillaryCare redux, then we need to focus on solutions that:

1. maintain economic growth,
2. invest in new technology, and
3. address the global nature of the problem.