Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.)
told MSNBC that he is "convinced" the Senate cap-and-trade
bill he introduced with Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) yesterday
has a chance to pass. According to the Hill, Kerry said,
""I'm convinced it has a shot." Kerry-Boxer is even more
stringent in some respects than Waxman-Markey, calling for a 20
percent reduction in carbon emissions compared to the 17 percent
required by the bill that narrowly passed the House.
Well, if there is a "shot," someone forgot to tell key moderate
Democrats. Roll Call
reported that Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) said, "I am not
committed to [carbon] cap-and-trade under any circumstance."
Ditto Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), who just said, "It's a difficult
issue." Someone also forgot to ask Sen. John McCain, a Republican
supporter of cap-and-trade, if he'd back the bill. Fortunately,
Reuters
didn't: "Of course not. Never, never, never." McCain is
steamed about the "lip service" paid to nuclear energy in the
Democratic bill.
If moderate Democrats, Rust Belt Democrats, and moderate
Republicans aren't on board, cap-and-trade will be harder to pass
than health care. Some shot.
UPDATE: Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.), protecting the interests
of his state's coal industry, has also come
out against the Kerry-Boxer bill: "The climate legislation
proposed today by Senators Boxer and Kerry is a disappointing
step in the wrong direction and I am against it."
