Senate delays Climate Change Bill till fall

Harry Reid (D-NV) announced today that the Senate would delay taking up climate change legislation until the fall. He cited a packed schedule before the 2 week August fall break and the fact that Senate Democrats cannot overcome the Republican filibuster on the issue. Senate Democrats have not been able to woo even Susan Collins or Olympia Snowe (both Republican Senators from Maine) to their side. Could there be another story at play here? Could Reid be waiting until after the November elections?

Two top climate change legislation supporters in the Senate echoed the Majority Leader's remarks about the lack of Republican support. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) said

"we don't have any Republican support to overcome a filibuster on (climate change legislation) at the moment." (emphasis added)

Additionally, Senator John Kerry (D-MA) who has helped lead the effort to reach a deal on a Cap and Trade plan said Thursday that "the chances of this bill are very tough right now." (emphasis added) He also noted that those who have not yet signed on to support legislation relating to climate change fear possible retribution from voters.

That's 3 top Senate Democrat leaders all citing a lack of support for climate change legislation from Republicans in an election year. This begs the question, if Congressman Mike Castle (R-DE) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) are drafted into the Senate this year, will it embolden Snowe and Collins in Maine, Orin Hatch from Utah and Scott Brown from Massachusetts? Snowe and Collins can usually be counted on to "reach across the aisle" and submit to Democrats, Hatch is a Progressive Republican and Scott Brown has enacted similar Cap and Trade legislation in Mass. Adding Mike Castle, who is both a global warming hoaxer and a Progressive with a history of voting with the Democrats and who last year voted to pass full Cap and Trade legislation out of the House of Representatives is almost a gimme for Senate Democrats to start the flip-flop express.

Remember, Mike Castle voted for the House Cap and Trade legislation that would raise energy bills nationwide by nearly $3,000 per person annually. The Senate version of Cap and Trade legislation does remove a mandate for alternative energy sources (like solar and wind) and alters some minor points of the House version which supposedly reduce the cost to consumers slightly. If Castle is willing to sell out and raise individual energy rates by $3,000 you can bet he'll do it again at $2,500 just as quickly. Castle's history of supporting the Democrat machine is well known and documented. According to reports from Americans for Democratic Action, Mike Castle voted with liberals 50% of the time in 2007, 65% of the time in 2008 and 55% of the time in 2009 (including Cap and Trade). Given this evidence, it's highly likely that Reid and other Senate Democrats await the arrival of Castle and Kirk to help sure up support for another job killing bill that will increase costs on Americans across the board.

It should be noted that Mike Castle's opponent Christine O'Donnell has pledged NOT to vote for any Cap and Trade legislation and has vowed to stop Congress from destroying the American economy and shutting down our energy production. You can read more about her at www.christine2010.com.