Political Roundup
Posted August 27, 2010 at 9:55 am 
Filed in: Primary election results dominated the news this week, with climate and energy policy playing a key role. The most surprising winner (pending absentee ballot results) was Alaska Republican Joe Miller, who appears well on his way to having defeated incumbent Lisa Murkowski, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. E&E News highlights Miller’s stance on energy entering the primary: “Miller believes the scientific findings behind climate change are in ‘serious question.’ That position might have benefited him when he dipped into Murkowski’s past and tied her efforts to soften cap-and-trade proposals in 2007 with aggressive Democratic climate policies this year.”
If Murkowski is defeated, it leaves an opening for new Republican leadership on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The Hill reports that Senator Richard Burr (D-NC) could be next in line: “‘If, unfortunately, Sen. Murkowski were to lose, Sen. Burr would have some really viable options,’ said Ron Bonjean, a Republican strategist and former House and Senate GOP leadership aide. Bonjean noted that energy ‘is a very prestigious committee and very high-profile at a time when our country is dealing with energy and environmental crises.’”
Although Senator Burr refused to comment on this speculation, this week again proved that future for energy legislation is anything but clear. In Greenwire, Representative Ed Markey puts forth a very optimistic view: “Rising gasoline costs and environmental disasters will continue to pose problems that lawmakers ‘are going to have to deal with in the months and years ahead, so it’s not a question from my perspective of whether Waxman-Markey is ultimately going to pass in the Senate. It will; it’s just a question of time, not a question of if it is going to happen.’”
In West Virginia, many Democrats are not so sure. Greenwire reports, “‘West Virginians feel that the national Democratic Party abandoned them,’ said Curtis Wilkerson, campaign manager for Mike Oliverio, the Democrats’ candidate for West Virginia’s 1st District. ‘West Virginia voters see a huge difference between West Virginia Democrats and national Democrats. It’s not [West Virginia Democrats'] fault that some people in the party have tried to take it to these extreme ends.’”
Environmental groups are also lacking confidence in the possibility of passing meaningful cap and trade legislation, turning instead to the EPA to regulate carbon emissions. Greenwire reports, “Their strategy amounts to a two-pronged campaign: fending off efforts in Congress to handcuff EPA regulatory power while prodding the Obama administration to mandate deep emission cuts. ‘There is sort of a two-fold fight,’ said Sara Chieffo, deputy legislative director at the League of Conservation Voters. ‘One is fighting off legislative attacks to hamstring, weaken or delay EPA’s ability to move forward with reductions from our nations’ largest emitters.’ The second is ‘pushing EPA to be ambitious on the direct greenhouse gas rules.’”
The environmentalist approach is not, however, a plan of attack that is supported by all Democrats. Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), in the same article, states that he “plans to seek a vote this year on a bill that would prohibit the agency from regulating stationary sources’ emissions for two years. Rockefeller said this month that Senate leadership had agreed to allow him to seek a vote on the bill as part of an energy package the Senate plans to take up in September, but a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said the schedule has not been finalized.”
With the need for 60 votes to pass any bill and publicized disagreement within the majority party, many news outlooks are already prepping their next energy bill eulogies. However, this week’s news could actually represent an opportunity for compromise on an energy package. Energy has remained a key issue in the minds of voters, and there is a clear opportunity to act when Congress returns to Washington in two weeks. Now free from election politics, Senator Murkowski – one of six Republicans to support electrification in committee – could be more apt to support a compromise energy package on the Senate Floor. Even the mention of “cap and trade” in Washington begins divisive political attacks from both parties. If the Senate is able to stick with points of agreement – Mitch McConnell recently mentioned electrifying cars and trucks as a bipartisan issue – energy may not be dead yet.
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