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Hill Dems Blow It for Obama with Energy Bill

By Joseph Romm, Huffington Post. Posted September 22, 2008.


A big blunder by Congressional Dems on the energy bill has resulted in a huge triumph for McCain.
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Both The Hill and Politico.com have reported that a bipartisan "gang" of 20 Senators will not introduce a compromise energy bill before the election. You can read details of the original compromise here: The Gang-of-10 drilling deal is something for nothing.

This is a huge triumph for McCain and major political blunder by Congressional Democrats. The original energy compromise was, I argued, "the best chance -- indeed, the only chance -- the Dems will have to simultaneously give the lie to McCain's faux bipartisanship and to expose the Big Energy Lie, the absurd notion that McCain and the Republicans believe in an all-of-the-above energy for dealing with our energy crises" (see "Gang-of-10 deal is a must for Dems").

Frankly, it was bewildering that Lindsey Graham was part of the original Gang in the first place, given how much a genuine compromise that benefited the entire nation was against the narrow political interests of his close friend from Arizona. It was even more bewildering that House and Senate Dems didn't immediately pick up this bill and vote on it given that it contained the least amount of coastal drilling imaginable while at the same time providing more long-term support for renewables than the House Dems just voted for. You can find details on the House bill here.

Now, whatever energy bill Senate Democrats come up with, McCain and his allies can claim that it is just a partisan Democratic bill, just as the House GOP stood on the House floor and bitterly opposed Pelosi's bill (see "How is the House GOP's behavior last night different from my 19-month-old daughter's").
Politico.com got duped into pushing what will no doubt be the standard GOP line, that ...

... leaders on both sides -- environmentalists on the left and anti-tax conservatives on the right -- were not ready to embrace a bipartisan energy deal so close to the election.

Note to Politico: Don't you think your article should have mentioned at least in passing that the moratorium on coastal drilling is going to expire at the end of this month, so anybody in Congress who cares about the environment needs to sign on to some sort of a compromise? To the extent that some environmentalists did play a supporting role in allowing McCain's allies to kill this without leaving obvious fingerprints, it is yet more evidence that "The environmental community has had its head in the sand when it comes to reality."

The Hill's analysis is somewhat better, though their reporting is still flawed:

Democrats, under pressure to lift a nearly three-decade-old ban on drilling, seemed open to the plan to deflect criticism that they were standing in the way of finding more domestic supplies.

Uhh, not quite. The ban doesn't need to be "lifted." It is set to die automatically at the end of the month unless it is renewed (which ain't going to happen) or some alternative is put in its place.


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Puffer
Posted by: gaia on Sep 23, 2008 8:34 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It's too late, we're a theofascist police state headed for collapse, just like the Romans, Dutch Empire, Spanish Empire, English Empire--all empires, that reflexly overreach and die of greed. The Democrats are the Wimp Wing of the Republican Party. We should be listening to Nader, but the cabal of Dems-Reps won't let him say a word. We're going down, kids, kiss your children goodbye. Note: 98% of the public hasn't got a clue.

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It'll Be Interesting To See How This One Works Itself Out...
Posted by: ranchero42 on Sep 25, 2008 12:21 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The rationale that this vote on this bill represents a LOSS for McCain is compelling, if bizarre. The oil companies may actually be sensitive to all the negative publicity, but that seems unlikely and contrary to history. This industry has no sincere interest in environmental issues unless you count advertising spin aimed at making us believe they do. New drilling will only increase their costs across the board which will then be passed along to the consumer. As an election year issue, this one sucks even when their hand-picked veep candidate delivers it. Respond if you will, don't say I didn't warn you about wasting energy.

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This raises fresh concerns about the sincerity of the Dems regarding energy policy
Posted by: PaulC on Sep 26, 2008 10:40 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It sure looks like they are bowing to big oil/coal/nuclear.

peace,
Paul

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90% by 2030
Posted by: AsteroidMiner on Sep 29, 2008 7:22 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Reference: Scientists say Humanity ignores Antarctic melting and
Greenhouse gas time-bombs with the price of Mass-Extinction
http://www.agoracosmopolitan.
com/home/Frontpage/
2007/02/26/01381.html
by David Stein, Science Editor

The reference says we need to cut CO2 output by 90% by 2030.
There is no way the Republicans will vote for a bill that will do
that. Wait for the next congress.
"Given time lags of 30-50 years, we might have already put
enough extra greenhouse gases into the atmosphere to have
crossed a threshold to these bombs exploding, their released
greenhouse gases leading to ever accelerating global warming
with future global temperatures maybe tens of degrees higher than
our norms of human habitation and therefore extinction or very
near extinction of humanity."

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]