New York Times: Last December, Congress passed a useful energy bill that ratcheted up fuel economy standards for the first time in decades. That seems a long, long time ago. Since then, Congress has gone steadily and sadly backward on energy policy. One reason is the bitter partisan divide, especially in the Senate, where Republicans have made it impossible for innovative ideas to achieve a filibuster-proof 60 votes. Combine that with Republican pandering (joined by a fair number of Democrats) on …