This Is The End, My Only Friend

Climate change legislation is officially dead as Republicans didn't even have to filibuster it, just threaten to, in order to kill it.

After a meeting of Senate Democrats, party leaders on Thursday said they had abandoned hope of passing a comprehensive energy bill this summer and would pursue a more limited measure focused primarily on responding the Gulf oil spill and including some tightening of energy efficiency standards.

Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, a champion of comprehensive climate change legislation called the new goal “admittedly narrow.”

At a news conference, the majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, blamed Republicans for refusing to cooperate. “We don’t have a single Republican to work with us,” Mr. Reid said.
Democrats said they would continue to pursue broader climate change legislation.

“This is not the only energy legislation we are going to do,” Mr. Reid said. “This is what we can do now.”

And of course in 2011 it'll be easier cause there will be more Democrats in Congress, right?   Hottest June on record since 1880 during a cycle of minimal solar activity, and it's "but Climategate!  Tax and Cap!"  To a person, the Republican Party has abandoned the environment.

What makes anyone think the scaled-down "oil spill and maybe some environmental regulations" bill will pass?