Weekly Political Roundup – This Wasn’t Supposed to Happen
Posted September 18, 2009 at 8:43 am 
Filed in: Thursday, political and energy observers were treated to a provocative E&E ClimateWire lede (http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2009/09/17/1) that, even though many expected, still managed to raise eyebrows once it was seen in print:
“A day after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) hinted that climate legislation might be postponed until 2010, some analysts wondered whether that actually could mean 2011. Or perhaps that it wouldn’t be considered in the Senate at all.”
The speculation continues:
“With congressional midterm elections looming next year, they say the timetable is limited for politicians to act on a major bill before partisan rancor dominates Capitol Hill. That is raising speculation that lawmakers and the Obama administration may go for a ‘Plan B’ next year that involves passage of a general energy bill without its most complex climate elements.”
And the problem isn’t just pre-election partisan wrangling. Even the Democrats are getting increasingly feisty. Energy player Byron Dorgan took to the floor Tuesday with this stern message aimed at his own party’s leadership:
“Let me say that while I have said I do not intend to be supportive of the cap-and-trade approach, especially with quotes around ‘trade,’ I think there are some things we can, will, and must do to address the issue of climate change and bring about a low carbon future. Having said that, my hope is that the legislation already passed through the Senate Energy Committee will be brought to the floor for a debate because it makes significant steps toward addressing energy and climate change policy. It will also reduce our dependence on foreign oil and increase our national and energy security. This is achieved for our country by producing more American energy and by incentivizing the kinds of things that can serve, save, and create other forms of energy as well. ”
“Let me talk just for a bit about the bill passed by the Senate Energy Committee. Some people have said that we have to bring an energy bill to the floor and combine it with a climate change bill. I do not believe that should be done at this time. In my judgment, it would be much smarter to bring an energy bill to the floor which has already passed out of the committee with a bipartisan vote. It is called the American Clean Energy Leadership Act. We should bring that bill to the floor, debate it, pass it, and get it to the President for his signature. That would do something very significant for our country’s energy future. After that, we should then turn to address climate change legislation and how we create a low carbon future.”
“We are told: Well, you have to bring Waxman-Markey or you have to do this or that. What we have to do, it seems to me, is to be smart. The smart thing, in my judgment, would be to take the legislation the Senate Energy Committee has passed, which does all the things I have described. It would contribute, in a very positive way towards reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and increasing our national and energy security by making us less dependent on foreign oil and making us more dependent on American-produced energy.”
“I hope very much, after the debate on health care legislation, as people start thinking and talking about energy and climate change, consideration will exist for bringing a good energy bill to the floor that is a significant step in the right direction toward climate change first. Then at some later point, bringing a climate change bill to the floor. Because I think they are related but separate. I think it would be much smarter to get the value and the success of an energy bill that has been passed by the committee and ready to be dealt with by the Senate at some point very soon.”
That’s some strong coffee. And he’s not the only Democrat echoing that message. Freshly minted Ag Committee Chair Blanche Lincoln recently said of the Senate tackling health care and climate in the remainder of this year: “The problem of doing both of them together is that it becomes too big of a lift … I see the cap-and-trade being a real problem.” She deemed the House-passed climate bill “a complete non-starter.”
The day when Democrats ruled the House, Senate, and White House for the first time since 1994 was much anticipated by Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and countless Green true-believers. This was not how they pictured it. This wasn’t supposed to happen. At least not so soon.
It will be interesting to see at what point political calculations eclipse ideological considerations and the Democrat brass opts for a needed win over a heavy-lift wish-list item carrying limited electoral upside.
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