Capped And Traded

Senate DINOs are furious that Obama is trying to get carbon cap and trade legislation in through as a budget measure (which cannot be filibustered) rather than regular legislation (which absolutely will require 60 votes). Several Dems from carbon-heavy states are rebelling completely and joining with the GOP in a letter demanding separate legislation...so they can kill it.

Using the procedure of budget reconciliation, which would allow a climate change measure to become law with 50 votes while preventing filibusters, "would circumvent normal Senate practice and would be inconsistent with the administration's goals of bipartisanship, cooperation, and openness," the 33 senators wrote.

Budget reconciliation was used by George W. Bush and congressional Republicans to prevent Democrats from stalling both the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. The opposition of nearly one-half of the Senate, however, means that President Obama's party will have little room to use the tactic as successfully as Bush's supporters did.

Filibuster-proofing the upcoming health care reform bill through reconciliation already has been ruled out strongly discouraged* by pivotal Democratic senators on the Finance Committee, Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Jay Rockefeller (D-WV).

Democrats' reluctance to take advantage of their procedural arsenal to pass climate change and health care this year doesn't mean that both pieces of legislation would necessarily fall to filibusters. But it does mean that Republicans will have significantly more opportunities to insert pro-business provisions into these pivotal bills.

Late Update: The eight Democratic senators who signed on to the letter are Robert Byrd (WV), Blanche Lincoln (AR), Ben Nelson (NE), Evan Bayh (IN), Mark Pryor (AR), Bob Casey (PA), Carl Levin (MI), and Mary Landrieu (LA).

What a surprise: Southern Dems, Rust Belt and Coal Belt Dems, and Ben "Backstab" Nelson.

Forget the fact that a mojority of Americans continue to support climate change cap and trade legislation. We've got American energy and manufacturing lobbyists to take cash from!

Like Elena Schor says, nobody seemed to object to Bush ramming through his tax cuts for the rich through as a budget process and denying the Democrats the "right to filibuster". Rae-Rae was talking about this last night at the end of her show, about how despite a massive seventy-nine seat advanatage in the House and a 17 seat (18 if you count Al Franken) advantage in the Senate, Senate DINOs continue to side with deeply unpopular House Republicans and oppose Obama's mandate.

Why not boot them in the primaries? It's not like we can do too much worse.

You know, other than the planet melting.