What is it about liberals that they know they need desperate times before they can shove their ideas down people's throats?

First, it was Rahm Emanuel telling the Wall Street Journal back in November that the current economic crisis was too good an opportunity to radically change the country for it to go to waste.

Now Hillary Clinton is saying the same thing only this time, she thinks we must use the crisis to promote global warming "solutions:"

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told an audience Friday "never waste a good crisis," and highlighted the opportunity of rebuilding economies in a greener, less energy-intensive way.

Highlighting Europe's unease the day after Russia warned that gas flows via Ukraine might be halted, she also condemned the use of energy as a political lever.

Clinton told young Europeans at the European Parliament that global economic turmoil provided a fresh opening. "Never waste a good crisis ... Don't waste it when it can have a very positive impact on climate change and energy security," she said.

Europe sees the United States as a crucial ally in global climate talks in Copenhagen in December, after President Barack Obama signaled a new urgency in tackling climate change, in stark contrast to his predecessor George W. Bush.

Europe has already laid out plans to cut carbon dioxide emissions to about a fifth below 1990 levels in the next decade, while Obama has proposed a major shift toward renewable energy and a cap and trade system for CO2 emissions.

It's going to be very dark, and very cold in Europe very soon. And the same could happen here.