by Sam Pierce
It is a good thing that John McCain's LEFT hand man, Lindsey "just shut up" Grahamnesty isn't up for re-election this year. Since he is not, he does not have to engage in the disingenuous charade (like some candidates) of pretending to suddenly be against Cap and Trade. Lindsey is free to carry on with the appeasing of the enviro-statist left unfettered, footloose, and fancy free.
Of course, everything is not green peaches and non-dairy (cows produce methane, after all) cream for Lindsey and his fellow energy taxing muskrateers Joe Lieberman and John Heinz-Kerry. It has become evident that the proletariat in general is not quite as stupid as they had hoped. Imagine the horror of these Washington D.C. elitist bozos as they became aware that many citizens actually realize what Cap and Trade would mean to their wallets. Lindsey, Lieberman, and Lurch could never have expected the unwashed masses to realize that if the federal government implemented a law that would effectively raise the price of everything manufactured, transported, or requiring the use of energy in any way, then the desired outcome would occur! It just so happens that although these three stooges may not realize it, the economy is already bad and the notion of the federal government killing even more jobs rubs some of the electorate the wrong way.
What is global warming scam artist to do? Noted Washington Obamost enviro-statist writer Juliet Eilperin along with Steve Mufson has the scoop in "Senators to propose abandoning cap-and-trade". The headline might lead one to believe that the Senators have the best interests of their nation at heart. If the reader stops with the headline, he can go away believing that common sense has begun to seep back into D.C. and that the Senate may be on track to return to performing its legitimate Constitutional functions. The WaPo article says "nay, nay!":
Three key senators are engaged in a radical behind-the-scenes overhaul of climate legislation, preparing to jettison the broad "cap-and-trade" approach that has defined the legislative debate for close to a decade.
The sharp change of direction demonstrates the extent to which the cap-and-trade strategy -- allowing facilities to buy and sell pollution credits in order to meet a national limit on greenhouse gas emissions -- has become political poison. In a private meeting with several environmental leaders on Wednesday, according to participants, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), declared, "Cap-and-trade is dead."
Graham and Sens. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) have worked for months to develop an alternative to cap-and-trade, which the House approved eight months ago. They plan to introduce legislation next month that would apply different carbon controls to individual sectors of the economy instead of setting a national target.
According to several sources familiar with the process, the lawmakers are looking at cutting the nation's greenhouse gas output by targeting, in separate ways, three major sources of emissions: electric utilities, transportation and industry.
Sweet! While the Senatorial libs are bombarding the citizens with threats to implement a federal bureaucrat takeover of the nation's healthcare delivery (or rationing and denial if the proposed plans pass and reach their logical destinations), Lindsey, Lieberman, and Lurch have been lurking in the shadows (or perhaps one of the penumbras libs like to say exist in our Constitution). I suppose they had to keep attacking the problem (voter awareness, not carbon emissions) because Harry Reid sees a shift in the attitude of the electorate and knows the people won't put up with this garbage for much longer:
Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) told Kerry this week that he and his colleagues need to produce a bill as soon as possible to have any chance of passage in 2010. Jim Manley, Reid's spokesman, said it is the majority leader's "hope to bring it up to the floor for a vote," adding, "But we've got a whole host of other things on our plate, and a Republican Party that's making it difficult for us to pass all but the most routine legislation."
I must say it is nice of Reid to commend the Republican Party like that! Good job, Republicans! Keep fighting against the gross overstepping of authority these statist jerks are attempting! Also, see if you can influence some of your RINO brethren like Lindsey Graham on the little issue of raising the price of everything in the name of anthropogenic global warming. Perhaps if Mitch McConnell were to give Graham a lifetime membership to the Al Gore Movie Club, he could be persuaded to do what is right for his state and his country.
Leave it to the great heiress hunter, John Heinz-Kerry to explain the logic of the new plan:
"What people need to understand about this bill is this really is a jobs bill, an economic transformation for America, an energy independence bill and a health/pollution-reduction bill that has enormous benefits for the country," Kerry said.
In typical elitist, liberal, Valerie Jarrett 'the people are stupid (especially Tea Partiers) and we need to use small words to make it simple for them' fashion, Lurch sees the need to make the little people "understand". Of course, in the same manner, he means "understand" by buying the ridiculous spin as opposed to actually understanding the devastating outcome in the nasty inconvenience of reality. Lurch uses the same tactic here as the libs use when pushing their healthcare takeover. It is the logic that says we save by spending, we cover more with less and do not have to ration, and we kill jobs to create jobs.
As for Lindsey Graham, he reminds us that the purpose of a "moderate" is all too often to give the agenda of the left a "bipartisan" label!
Cross-posted from "The Immoderate Blog"
