OPINION:
It is not easy being a Republican. Lots of times, the party’s elected officials seem to lose track of the narrative, of what they should favor and what they should oppose.
For instance, the Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted unanimously Tuesday in favor of the misbranded Ratepayer Protection Act.
The legislation, like all other truly bad legislation, was bipartisan. It is sponsored by Rep. Gabe Evans, a self-described Republican from Colorado, and Rep. Kathy Castor, a Democrat from Florida, who got her start in politics by opposing transmission lines built by a local utility.
The act requires states to consider adopting a federal standard directing data centers to pay the full cost of the infrastructure associated with their operations.
As a friendly reminder, just about any legislation sold as “bipartisan” is usually a disaster for Republicans. The Ratepayer Protection Act is no exception.
Not to be outdone, and always eager to look busy on data centers and artificial intelligence, the Trump administration announced the same day that a batch of utilities had promised that data centers would have to pay for whatever electricity they used and whatever facilities they built to serve them.
There was no explanation of how utilities that have signed the pledge will enforce commitments that someone else — in this case, the data centers — must fulfill. Nor was there any explanation of how the data centers’ commitment to pay their own way differs from the commitment of any other customer.
Just about everyone who pays an electricity bill has made the same basic pledge to pay for what they use.
Beyond all that propaganda, the fundamental problem with the Republicans on this issue is that they have adopted — without much consideration, as best I can tell — the Democrats’ framing of the issue.
Republicans could and should be talking about the positive changes that AI and data centers will bring to the United States: improved health, greater creativity, enhanced national security, a renewed educational system and improved access to just about all forms of information.
Or it could be noted that whichever nation masters AI first will hold the commanding heights of the global economy and military for the next two generations. Or Republicans could point out that, like the digital revolution, AI will be a tremendous wealth-creating opportunity for millions of Americans.
In short, the Republicans should be talking about economic growth, wealth creation and technological frontiers. Instead, the Republicans have decided to focus on the small beer of electricity rates and get tangled up in marginal questions about electricity bills and the comically nebulous notion of “affordability.”
For those who may be confused about where the left is heading, Sen. Bernard Sanders, Vermont independent, has decided that we should have a moratorium on data centers. The state of New York recently got the message and announced a one-year moratorium.
No doubt Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat from Buffalo, imagines that she will be able to terminate the moratorium in exchange for cash from the hostages, um, businesses that want to build data centers.
That seems unlikely, now that the entirety of the new socialist cohort wants to kill data centers. They understand — apparently with more precision and crispness than the Republicans — that data centers will lead to another 50 years of American wealth creation and commercial and military dominance.
That is the one thing folks on the political left cannot tolerate under any circumstances.
Republicans need that sort of clarity regarding AI and data centers. They also need a sense of urgency. Let us hope they find both soon.
• Michael McKenna is a contributing editor at The Washington Times.
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