cap-and-trade – Page 2

The Perfect Storm of Cap and Trade.

So, let’s review.

Via Little Miss Attila, we see that getting cap-and-trade passed in the Senate is seen as being… problematical.
Via Instapundit, we see that Al Franken is now officially the junior Senator from Minnesota. That, of course, makes sixty.
Via Hot Air, we see that the netroots are threatening to go on Crusade against the Democratic party if the Democrats don’t start using their clear mandate to do everything that the progressives want them to do.
Via Ace of Spades HQ, we see that Gallup is reporting that the public’s perception of the Democratic party have just flipped, with a plurality of the population now thinking that the party is too liberal (for the first time since 1996).
Via Rasmussen, we see that a plurality of the population doesn’t like this bill (41%) and doesn’t think that it’ll help the economy (42%). That’s a lot of earth traitors.
And, oh, yes: the GOP flipped the generic Congressional ballot again – although that last will probably bounce back and forth for a while.

Yeah. This is going to be an interesting July.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Meet Carol Browner, Energy Czar.

Via Ed Morrissey, witness her full and total awareness of the cap-and-trade monstrosity that her political party is threatening to unleash upon the world:

“I’ve read major portions of it, absolutely.”

You know, this is one of those times that I almost feel sorry for hyper-partisan Democrats. Can you imagine having to go through life having to pretend that this administration has any idea what it’s doing?

Moe Lane

PS: Actually, I would accept the “The executive branch hasn’t had an opportunity to read what the legislative branch has cobbled together yet…” excuse. Assuming, of course, that it’s immediately followed by “…which is why the President’s going to veto the bill and send it back to the House so that they can do a competent job this time.”

Until then… well. I voted for the other guy.

Crossposted to RedState.

‘Read my lips: no new tax increases?’

AoSHQ linked to this piece mostly to highlight the Warren Buffet quote on cap and trade:

“it’s a huge tax and there’s no sense calling it anything else. I mean, it is a tax. So it — and it’s a fairly regressive tax.”

– Real quickly, Mr. Buffet: how did you vote in the last election, again? –

…but I wanted to actually highlight the following exchange between George Stephanopoulos and Obama crony David Axelrod. In the interests of fair use, I am going to executive summary this one; feel free to compare it against the original. I think that I’ve captured the sense accurately, at least. Continue reading ‘Read my lips: no new tax increases?’

How you know when you’ve gotten yourselves in a legislative pickle.

When you have to yank out a potential “Yes” vote from the pickle jar.

Vicious of me, yes, but my sympathy for Pat Kennedy isn’t what you’d call ‘high.’ And my sympathy for the Congressional Democrats for being so in need of his vote to pass their unseen monstrosity of a bill is even lower. Really: at this point, all you’re doing is writing the NRCC‘s campaign ads for them for next year.

And trust me: to quote the classics, they’re going to be open for business. Hi, Debbie Halvorson! Tell us again how independent you are!

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Is the EPA playing office politics with greenhouse gases?

Imagine our shock.

If you don’t have time to read this letter from Rep. Joe Barton, or watch the video below:

…let me summarize: Continue reading Is the EPA playing office politics with greenhouse gases?

Michael Williams examines the cap-and-trade bill.

Michael Williams, current Texas Railroad Commissioner* and candidate for Senate, is doing a multi-part survey of the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill currently before Congress. He’s up to Part III (see also Part I & Part II, of course), and here’s what he’s hoping to accomplish with it:

Democrats in Congress, joined with the Obama administration, are proceeding along parallel tracks to impose CO2 regulations so sweeping as to become the most expensive and expansive environmental reach of government into the lives of American families, businesses and consumers in history.

In May, the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the Waxman-Markey cap and trade bill that is designed to drastically reduce carbon dioxide emissions blamed for global warming. The full House could complete action on the bill within the next two weeks.

[snip]

The prospect for cap and trade is less certain in the Senate and the EPA, while poised to finalize its landmark finding, has not done so, yet. If enough Americans band together, we can still protect the American economy, jobs, and incomes from undue and unnecessary CO2 regulations.

Continue reading Michael Williams examines the cap-and-trade bill.

I assume that this was a rhetorical question of the Sunlight Foundation.

(Via Instapundit) What the frak is going on with the Cap and Trade bill is that it’s being shepherded through Congress by a government that is:

dominated by one political party;
controlled by one wing of that political party, mostly because they are senior (and senior because they are ideologues from safe seats);
largely unconcerned with addressing the concerns, honoring the ideals, and/or valuing the opinions of the Sunlight Foundation.

I hope that this helps clear up any lingering confusion.

Moe Lane

PS: I note that Paul Blumenthal’s post quoted Chris Bowers. I know how the latter voted in the last election; I’m curious as to how the former did. After all, it’d be a shame to include Blumenthal in the standard Elections have consequences comment if he actually had nothing to do with compounding the problem…

Crossposted to RedState.

Rep John Dingell: Cap and Trade is a tax.

Thanks.
For nothing.

Rep John Dingell today admitted that cap-and-trade really is an energy tax. Unfortunately, he did so in the context of telling a lie:

Contrary to Representative Dingell’s comments, quite a few people realized that cap-and-trade is a tax. And then so did quite a few people more. And then some more. And more. And more. And more. In fact, this realization is quite common among those individuals who do not have a vested emotional or, frankly, moral need to believe the absurd and contemptuous lie made by the current administration about how it wasn’t going to raise taxes on either the poor or middle class. Continue reading Rep John Dingell: Cap and Trade is a tax.