Should we be excited for changes to a law everyone says is broken?

President Obama's speech at Howard University earlier this month was both inspiring and practical -- in fact, his underlying point was that those two things are deeply intertwined. "You have to go through life with more than just passion for change; you need a strategy," he said.

The ACC has been doing a lot more than just posting disinformation on the Internet. Along with Koch Industries -- owner of Georgia-Pacific, one of the largest U.S. formaldehyde and plywood manufacturers -- it has been currying favor on Capitol Hill with large sums of lobbying and campaign cash.

Wait! Bipartisan environmental legislation is happening in Congress!

While active skepticism of government is healthy, unwavering condemnation can be corrosive to a democracy that depends on participation. Fortunately, we see a glimmer of effective governance that contradicts the narrative of congressional incompetence as an embedded feature of our democracy.