Boxer Goes Nuclear on Climate Bill

By Marc Sheppard

In an unprecedented show of partisan arrogance, the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee just sent S. 1733 (the Kerry-Boxer climate bill) to the floor of the Senate with not a single Republican member present.

As EPW procedural rules prohibit modifications or amendments to bills short the attendance of at least 2 minority members, the bill was reported out as written, with no amendments considered or debated. And, while many Democrats lamented that limitation during their speeches, all but one -- Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont) -- voted to nonetheless move the bill ahead.

Republicans have refused to attend the markup proceedings over the past few days, demanding that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provide an updated cost analysis prior to markup. But Committee chair Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has repeatedly insisted that the cost differences between the Senate bill and the House bill -- already analyzed by the EPA -- would be proven to be nominal, and that EPA remodeling would be a waste of taxpayer’s dollars.

Democrats worried about wasting taxpayer dollars? Nonsense.

This is about a ticking alarm clock.

The number of Americans now buying into the politically-tainted junk science on which this bill is based has dropped from 47% to 36% in the past year alone. And that waning number will make it increasingly difficult to pass what amounts to an enormous and needless exercise in national (and finally international) wealth destruction and redistribution. Particularly if the voting spills over to next year – an election year.

And it was no coincidence that Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) mentioned Copenhagen in his speech this morning. While the treaty is all but dead, Liberals know that no international treaty stands a chance short the American legislation needed to flush China and India from cover.

It’ll be interesting to see how the so-called moderates in both parties react to this unprecedented declaration of ideological war.