An Andy Ogles case study: Stupidity as tactic, lifestyle or default – Tennessee Lookout

Members of Congress have some truly remarkable resources available to them.  The Library of Congress, adjacent to Capitol Hill, has an estimated 164 million items in multiple languages and formats. The subjects cover an impressive array of human knowledge, arguably the single most thorough compilation of information ever gathered.  

Many Smithsonian buildings are nearby, displaying human understanding and progress in everything from natural history to aviation and space. George Washington University and the University of Maryland are just a few Metro stops away. Georgetown  University is nearby, too, as are Catholic, Howard. American and George Mason universities.

 Expert directories from many universities are available online, as are the very useful and searchable websites of both the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, established and reputable news organizations, and fact-checking sites.

Our 435 voting members of the House of Representatives and 100 U. S. Senators also have plenty of staffing help. At last count roughly 9,000 persons work as congressional staff. Some may have duties with constituent communications and other office tasks, but any reasonable allocation of staff allows for a lot of research help.

So, why is it then that so many of our legislators subsist on an information diet that dredges misleading gunk from the deepest, darkest online and social media hellholes? We need to ask ourselves if congressional stupidity is a tactic, lifestyle, or default state of being?  

Let’s explore this question via a case study of one incident involving Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, freshman congressman and prime beneficiary of Nashville area gerrymandering. Earlier this fall, Ogles put himself in hot water — literally.  He launched a loud crusade against some pending water heater standards.

Ogles proudly proclaimed in a tweet, “I introduced the Hot Showers Act to require the Department of Energy to stop its climate tyranny and allow the free market to dictate the price of appliances, not woke energy elitists.” He added in a news release “Joe Biden’s climate crusade has gone too far. He has weaponized the federal rulemaking process to place non-electric technology off the market artificially. When it seemed like prices couldn’t get any higher, this rule continues that trend and bankrupts consumers even more.” He finished his bloviating of right-wing buzzwords with, “I will always fight against any ‘Green New Deal’ directive that actively targets consumers and puts America last. Dealing with big government is stressful enough, and a good cure for those woes is a long hot shower. But, like most good things, Joe Biden wants to take that away from you too.”

Had Ogles done his homework, he would have discovered that standards on residential water heaters have long been required by Congress, but haven’t been updated in 13 years. Contrary to Ogles’ unhinged assumptions, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) estimated the new rules would save consumers every year $11.4 billion in energy and water bills. 

Biden’s war on everyday appliances is not over. Now, he’s having his bureaucrats come after your water heater.

I introduced the Hot Showers Act to require the Department of Energy to stop its climate tyranny and allow the free market to dictate the price of appliances, not woke…

— Rep. Andy Ogles (@RepOgles) September 21, 2023

If the standards are finalized, they would not be implemented until 2029, giving the industry time to make the needed improvements. Reuters reported, “A group including water heater maker Rheem, environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council and efficiency and consumer advocacy organizations issued a joint statement welcoming the new standards.”

One also should note that little matter of the existential threat of climate change. The  DOE calculates that the improved energy standards will reduce more than 500 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions over 30 years. That’s equal to the combined annual emissions of 63 million homes.

So, let’s return to our question. Is this moment of congressional stupidity a tactic, lifestyle, or default state of being? It appears to be a combination of all three. Ogles seems capable of processing information, though perhaps not precisely. He recently got wrong his actual college major, and offered other gaffes and bizarre extrapolations in his biography. 

Instead, this appears to be a tactic that has become a default lifestyle, viewing governance as just a chance to twist events to fit pre-existing themes against one’s opposition. Context, source reliability, and accuracy be damned. Ogles sits at a buffet of quality information, but chooses to gorge himself on a buffet of junk food, notably junk information and junk science.