The climate bill is kind of like a suffering, wounded dog. You want to believe it’s for the best when it’s finally put out of its misery, except you wish it just didn’t have to go down that like that.
In an unsurprising move, Senate majority leader Harry Reid made it official this afternoon. He announced he would introduce an “admittedly narrow, limited” energy bill that contains no greenhouse gas provisions and maybe even no renewable electricity mandate. The votes, he said, just weren’t there.
“It’s easy to count to 60,” said Reid, according to Politico. “I could do it by the time I was in eighth grade. My point is this, we know where we are. We know we don’t have the votes.”
Despite tireless climate champion Sen. John Kerry’s vague assurances that he will keep negotiating for a cap on carbon emissions at some future point in time, Democrats just gave up on the last, best chance to pass a global warming measure anytime soon. How often does an oil spill Armageddon come along to illustrate why this matters? And the Democrat majority ain’t getting any bigger in November, that’s for sure.
Meanwhile, the rest of the world gets it. For god’s sake, even China — America’s eternally convenient climate punching bag — is reportedly on the verge of establishing a mandatory carbon trading program by 2015.
Looking for someone to blame for this sad state of affairs? Here are a few options:
This weekend we celebrate Independence Day. For those of you absorbed in your beer and barbecue, this is the day the original American colonies broke free from British oppression and claimed their right to pursue happiness based on the principles of liberty and democracy.