Climate Security Act: The Talking Killer

Turns out the great climate act of 2008 wasn't going to be quite the political football Barbara Boxer and Harry Reid had hoped for. In a not too stunning reversal, the Senate punted the issue until next year when they hope to avoid the scrutiny of a debate. I guess a 7 trillion dollar tax hike on energy the same weekend gas hits 4 bucks a gallon would have come off a little "uncaring" for the plight of the little people who pay to drive to work every day.

The bill died without actually dying; sort of the Senate's version of the talking killer that has been shot in the shoulder. You know he is going to get up as soon as the girl (who picked up the gun) turns her back on the killer to check on her witless boyfriend.

Jun 6, 2008 9:03 AM Senate On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Boxer Amdt. No. 4825 ) Cloture Motion Rejected 48-36, 16 not voting (3/5 required).

In other words. Since only 84 Senators voted on the Cloture Motion, it would have taken 51 (3/5) to end the presumptive filibuster. Since only 48 did so, the Bill is now on the floor with a winged shoulder.

Of note: 16 senators no-voted...McCain skipped this one...Obama continued a stellar history of not putting himself on the record.

Supply Side Environmentalism

Barbara Boxer (D. CA), the main author of the hideous S. 2191 climate bill defends a new concept - supply side environmentalism, defined as: Shrinking the economy to get less environmental impact. The idea is that if we are not working, we are not creating green house gasses. Of course the upside (less global warming) is undefinable and not practical using this approach, but the actual science is no longer important: it's the belief that we are doing something based on assumptions made by people who choose to fail when success is an option.

I, like many others, have been covering S 2191 for a while because this is the most far reaching legislation since the War on Poverty in the 1960's. And this legislation is the perfect vehicle to have the BIG discussion about the role of government, good intentions and all of the unintended consequences created by legislation like S.2191.

Unfortunately, the current political environment probably means that we have this discussion after we are in the middle of a nasty depression. So for now I can have hope that some day, the adults will have a seat at the table of power again - and 2191 certainly brings that date closer to fruition.