Change: Three Blue Dogs now support GOP measure to block EPA from regulating carbon dioxide
posted at 8:39 pm on January 21, 2010 by Allahpundit
What can Brown do for you? This, for starters.
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is leading the charge to block the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gasses, and today she got some support from across the aisle: Three Democratic senators signed onto Murkowski resolution to bar such regulation.
The Democrats, the Associated Press reports, are Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas. Murkowski’s resolution says a rule submitted by the EPA to regulate greenhouse gasses “shall have no force or effect.” Thirty-five Republicans co-sponsored the measure.
Nelson and Lincoln also voted for John Thune’s failed amendment to end TARP, which would have made this a good day for Bribetaking Ben if not for the news from CBO that applying his Medicaid “Cornhusker Kickback” to all 50 states — as he claims he wants — would mean another $35 billion for ObamaCare. Not over 10 years, mind you; over just three years.
I’m trying to do the math for ObamaCare to see if I can get 11 Democratic no votes, which would kill the bill even in a case of reconciliation, but I don’t think I can get there. Best bets are these three plus Bayh, Bennet, Lieberman, McCaskill, Bill Nelson, Pryor, Warner, and Webb, but Bennet said a few months ago that he’d vote for O-Care even if it meant being voted out in November and McCaskill and Nelson, while swing-staters, have been safe yes votes until now. I don’t think we’ve got the numbers. Tell me I’m wrong.
Blowback
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Alaska. Where’s this Alaska that everyone is talking about?
Electrongod on January 21, 2010 at 8:43 PM
Gallows conversion.
LastRick on January 21, 2010 at 8:43 PM
Now this is the kind of “change” we need.
SoulGlo on January 21, 2010 at 8:43 PM
Now where have I heard those three names mentioned lately….
kcd on January 21, 2010 at 8:43 PM
Give it a little time. I’d be surprised if, through the final demise of Obamacare, if we didn’t have the numbers.
JetBoy on January 21, 2010 at 8:44 PM
Gosh, that’s courageous, now that man-made global warming is a world-wide joke. But then, this kind of stuff was never about global warming and was always about the left amassing total power over our lives, so maybe these idiots are learning.
Rational Thought on January 21, 2010 at 8:45 PM
Yellow dogs….pick a side and stay there. Nobody likes an opportunist with no principles.
Asher on January 21, 2010 at 8:46 PM
When you feel the heat, you see the light.
Philly on January 21, 2010 at 8:46 PM
The healthcare bill passed the House by how many votes? Look there for flippers AP.
toliver on January 21, 2010 at 8:47 PM
Wow! Amazing how right wing some democrats can get when they get a glimpse of their own tombstone huh?
conservnut on January 21, 2010 at 8:47 PM
Why do you need 11 votes? Don’t you need 10? 51 against?
p0s3r on January 21, 2010 at 8:47 PM
I like it! Can I use that?
kcd on January 21, 2010 at 8:48 PM
You’re wrong…as usual. No details necessary.
David Toohey on January 21, 2010 at 8:48 PM
Now where have I heard those three names mentioned lately….
Could it be (think Churchlady here)…………..Healthcare?
My, my, my. Some folks are suddenly feeling their red-state oats again, aren’t they.
There’s nobody in the country happier right now that Brown won the Mass seat than these three.
JoeinTX on January 21, 2010 at 8:48 PM
Nelson, Landrieu, Lincoln: repenting for their
sinscrimes (sorry for the bible talk, Allah) against America.Unfortunately, there are many more dems who need to beg for forgiveness or just promise to end their careers today.
Mark Boabaca on January 21, 2010 at 8:49 PM
LMAO.
Jaibones on January 21, 2010 at 8:49 PM
Scott Brown has accomplished a lot in the last few days…
TheBigOldDog on January 21, 2010 at 8:49 PM
Its just like what happened to Ebenzer Scrooge at the end when he sees his own tombstone….hehehe
kcd on January 21, 2010 at 8:49 PM
Good! Now let’s pursue all forms of energy. Let’s refine more oil! Let’s hit Putin and Chavez where it hurts, while creating more jobs. Let’s also begin to hold hearings on the EPA as well as investigations at the state level to find out what they knew and when they knew it about Climategate, and if they are involved in any cover-up. Push push push! Let’s make the federal government agencies be the bad guys for once!
Weight of Glory on January 21, 2010 at 8:50 PM
GE is gonna blow a fuse.
IlikedAUH2O on January 21, 2010 at 8:52 PM
Didn’t President Pinocchio talk like this before he was elected … and then he took a bullet train to the farthest corners of the left-o-sphere / left-us-fear?
Mark Boabaca on January 21, 2010 at 8:52 PM
Will Immelt change his name?
IlikedAUH2O on January 21, 2010 at 8:53 PM
*facepalm*
MadisonConservative on January 21, 2010 at 8:53 PM
You know what else is behind this? Today’s Supreme Court ruling on M/F. Now those energy companies can run political ads again. Suddenly Soro’s checking account ain’t looking so big. Any candidate that supports Crap and Tax is going to have energy dollars running against them!
conservnut on January 21, 2010 at 8:53 PM
How does a congressional resolution prohibit a regulatory agency in the executive branch from issuing regulations that are authorized by legislation passed by congress.
Would it have to be something more than a resolution?
Congress passes a blank check bestowing upon an executive branch regulatory agency the authority to pass regulations. How does a congressional resolution limit that authority?
Skandia Recluse on January 21, 2010 at 8:53 PM
They’re trying to redeem themselves. We cannot let our guard down at all. We must enjoy small victories for about 5 seconds and be ready to move to the next battle.
There for about 15 minutes I was fearful that the DEMS would try to straighten up before 2010 midterms, but I can now see there’s no chance of that.
Oink on January 21, 2010 at 8:54 PM
AP: From your 5:24 post.
This is it and you did not even have to wait until tomorrow.
kahall on January 21, 2010 at 8:54 PM
Hahahaha.
Can this week get any better?
LASue on January 21, 2010 at 8:54 PM
So this is what a revo1ution looks like?
anuts on January 21, 2010 at 8:55 PM
Let me be clear, I’ve always said that government is not the answer…
More popcorn please.
Mojave Mark on January 21, 2010 at 8:55 PM
They’re just ahead of the pack. Word gets around, others will join in. Their in ‘survival mode’. If any are dumb enough ‘to take one for Obama’, then they deserve it. You can’t fix stupid!
GarandFan on January 21, 2010 at 8:57 PM
kcd, go right ahead. Use away.
Philly on January 21, 2010 at 8:57 PM
McCaskill seems pretty freaked out. Rightfully so. I wouldn’t completely reject the idea that Feingold could be one. He’s liberal, but he’s a bit of a stickler for process and this may not set well with him.
stldave on January 21, 2010 at 8:57 PM
In my experience, there is no situation that doesn’t call for an 80′s flashback…”It’s a little too little, it’s a little too late…”
Nosferightu on January 21, 2010 at 8:57 PM
I SMELL burnt dog hair…..
HornetSting on January 21, 2010 at 8:57 PM
Amazing what a single special election can do to the direction of this country.
Doughboy on January 21, 2010 at 8:58 PM
Sweet Freedom! It makes you feel so….so…FREE! :)
kcd on January 21, 2010 at 8:58 PM
Who’d-a-Thunk an-off cycle Massachusetts senate vote would have been the heart-start-paddle that shocked all the kool-ade drinkers to see what has been happening. What a great week.
PaCadle on January 21, 2010 at 8:58 PM
Byrd will be gone by Memorial Day…but…WV has a democrat governor. Frank Lautenberg isn’t exactly a spring chicken, and we have Chris Christie there now, so….there’s always that route. Maybe, just maybe Ben Nelson in Florida will vote against it?
SouthernGent on January 21, 2010 at 8:59 PM
Don,t be fooled by the Libs they just want to try to save there political ass .They all are going down
thmcbb on January 21, 2010 at 8:59 PM
Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.
Samuel Johnson
Geochelone on January 21, 2010 at 8:59 PM
How about attaching an amendment onto the Health Care bill to defund the EPA? As in, “Hey, EPA, Congress here…we brought you into this world, and we can take you out”.
Left Coast Right Mind on January 21, 2010 at 8:59 PM
Might depend on what you presume is in the bill. In addition, whatever can be passed under reconciliation can be rescinded under reconciliation, giving an excellent issue and a doable objective in 2010 and 2012.
Unless you believe that the “swiss cheese” HCR reconciliation patchwork will suddenly become popular sometime between today and the relevant election days.
CK MacLeod on January 21, 2010 at 9:00 PM
In a frightening kind of way, it’s win/win for us. If Dems chicken out, we win. If Dems jam this through on a bare majority, we have all our 2010 and 2012 campaign ads made for us in addition to no inconvenient 60-vote requirement to repeal the sh!t sandwich.
Lehosh on January 21, 2010 at 9:00 PM
You know AP, if you give us one more piece of good news tonight, it better be accompanied by the humpbot. This day has been almost a good as Tuesday night. But then again Tuesday night has a lot to do with most of this good news today.
conservnut on January 21, 2010 at 9:00 PM
Vote them all out in November, it is the only way to be sure.
farright on January 21, 2010 at 9:00 PM
It gets better minute by minute.
BottomLine5 on January 21, 2010 at 9:02 PM
Pray, Allah. Just pray.
Maquis on January 21, 2010 at 9:03 PM
Watch a jihady help out a fellow jihady
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/victory-muslim-brotherhood
macncheez on January 21, 2010 at 9:03 PM
I see three names looking for salvation. But I don’t think their constiuents are in a forgiving mood. Certainly not in Nebraska.
madmonkphotog on January 21, 2010 at 9:05 PM
Sorry – but Landrieu NEVER supported Cap and Trade nor anything that would restrict in any way whatsoever the oil and refining industries of Louisiana.
She’s a pure charlatan … and she “sells” to the highest bidder. Here in Louisiana, any politician that supports energy controls is a non-starter.
I don’t think you can chalk her support up to Brown.
HondaV65 on January 21, 2010 at 9:06 PM
All 3 had there chance in dec to show the american they were on there side.All 3 voted for the health care bill on Christmas eve.If the rep start letting these yellow dogs off the hook then they are reality the stupid party.
thmcbb on January 21, 2010 at 9:07 PM
Sooo… if you have a leak in the boat, the best thing to do is drill a hole in the bottom so the water can run out.
Lily on January 21, 2010 at 9:07 PM
No doubt it did.
Weight of Glory on January 21, 2010 at 9:08 PM
By putting a stop payment on the check. Or amending it’s original terms. Happens all the time, it’s what Congress does. They giveth, and they taketh away.
uknowmorethanme on January 21, 2010 at 9:08 PM
God forbid they will be voted out of office and have to abide by their own laws…
Seven Percent Solution on January 21, 2010 at 9:08 PM
Yeah he did. But I never believed him.
Weight of Glory on January 21, 2010 at 9:09 PM
LOVE IT
John the Libertarian on January 21, 2010 at 9:09 PM
Elections have consequences. Very few Democrats are safe.
JammieWearingFool on January 21, 2010 at 9:10 PM
Those were just empty words until Tuesday when they became reality. And reality bites when you lose.
katy on January 21, 2010 at 9:10 PM
They will spend the next few weeks to months trying to redeem themselves. If the strategy works, they will see their poll numbers rise, and they will feeling better, but come their election date, they will all go down.
uknowmorethanme on January 21, 2010 at 9:10 PM
It has been entertaining reading some of the liberal blogs acknowledging the impending bloodbath in November.
ICBM on January 21, 2010 at 9:13 PM
Allah, you asked, I answer.
Under the reconcilliation process, to which fillibuster rules do not apply, only tax revenue raising or lowering items can be dealt with. So, they could do all the tax raising stuff and cut Medicare expenses and deal with all manner of the money stuff in Obamacare… without needing 60 votes in the Senate.
But when it comes to the meat of the bill — requiring everyone to buy health insurance, pre-existing illness coverage, portability, single payer or health insurance exchanges, etc., — each of those will require 60 votes in the Senate.
Hence, they can do all the pain through reconciliation, but can’t pass in the Senate any of the pleasure.
That said, after Tuesday, they don’t even have 51 (including Biden as tie-breaker) to do reconciliation.
TXUS on January 21, 2010 at 9:14 PM
Change I Can Breathe In
txag92 on January 21, 2010 at 9:15 PM
Thread winner.
That ‘twinkling’ they see on the horizon isn’t stars.
It’s spear points.
CPT. Charles on January 21, 2010 at 9:15 PM
hahahahaaaaaa! Good one.
misterspork on January 21, 2010 at 9:16 PM
AP: Go read up on “Reconciliation”. It ain’t going to happen, IMHO.
Keith Hennessey has a couple of nice analyses, here and here.
SlaveDog on January 21, 2010 at 9:17 PM
She should be a lady and not do this, right?
unclesmrgol on January 21, 2010 at 9:18 PM
AP used to be Catholic. He knows all about reconciliation.
unclesmrgol on January 21, 2010 at 9:18 PM
Their future looks something like this
conservnut on January 21, 2010 at 9:20 PM
What about Lindsey Graham? He is still seriously working with Kerry and Lieberman on cap n trade. It would be worthwhile if he actually used some of his energy to support blocking the EPA. However, he must do his duty and reach across the aisle.
mobydutch on January 21, 2010 at 9:21 PM
Any and all who vote for O care will be thrown out of office..Period!. end of discussion….
hawkman on January 21, 2010 at 9:21 PM
2012:
HILLARY VERSUS PALIN
reliapundit on January 21, 2010 at 9:26 PM
trying to stop the bleeding by holding this on their forehead … not going to work
tarpon on January 21, 2010 at 9:29 PM
Nelson and Landrieu seem to think that such actions like this will save their political careers.
The fools.
pilamaye on January 21, 2010 at 9:30 PM
Ya think their dumb? Their holdin out for Obama Cash from Obama stash!
100 million here, 100 Million there, and a 100 million over there and they’ll be 100% behind the EPA resolution!
Throw the bums out, they made a deal with the devil they suffer the consequences!
Not gonna get ya back in the pizza joint Ben move to the Bahamas like that crook Harkin, Traitor D. IA
dhunter on January 21, 2010 at 9:33 PM
How much did the Repubs have to pay them for their vote?
Herb on January 21, 2010 at 9:47 PM
I doubt you can get 218 votes in the House so who cares about the Senate for now. Nancy’s white-flag raising today pretty much allows all dem congresscritters to desert her and try to save their skin between now and November. And who would be afraid of the WH now?
PatMac on January 21, 2010 at 9:50 PM
Too late for Pepperoni Nelson….his goose is cooked and the Traitor Twins are gonners too.
yoda on January 21, 2010 at 9:56 PM
The Kennedy seat has been stirring for 48 hours.
seven on January 21, 2010 at 9:58 PM
Warner–squish
Webb–watch me be independent before I squish.
ted c on January 21, 2010 at 9:59 PM
41!
faol on January 21, 2010 at 10:02 PM
They will all pretend to see the light from now until November.
The votes taken up to last Tuesday are the real measure for each of the members of Congress. Any of them who voted for Cap and Trade, the Health Care Fraud, the GIVE/SLAVE Act, or any of the other nasty attacks on the United States are going to find their opponents well staffed and funded, and may as well update their resumes now.
poplicola on January 21, 2010 at 10:07 PM
You’re wrong. The reason the reason the Senate bill won’t pass the House is because they can’t get 50 Senators to kill the Cadillac tax on a reconciliation vote. Without the Tax the numbers go through the roof and the Senators run for cover. All the senators you listed and maybe a couple more will never pass O-care without the Cadillac tax. The promised to pass their version of O-care, not the House’s.
Rocks on January 21, 2010 at 10:12 PM
I think it’s going to be don Cap & Run…..
roy_batty on January 21, 2010 at 10:14 PM
If you want to clean up the environment eliminate the EPA.
lilium on January 21, 2010 at 10:18 PM
People asked me how I could give money to Brown when I don’t even know him.
All he has to do is get elected, I told them, and the whole game changes.
Look at this! It’s wonderful! It’s creative destruction, a cascading retrenchment.
PattyJ on January 21, 2010 at 10:19 PM
Sometimes the vet has to put Lassie down. These three dogs need to be retired at the next election.
Highplains on January 21, 2010 at 10:30 PM
Well, AP if we don’t have them today I bet we have them quickly. The shockwaves from Mass. are still rippling around the world.
Those dem senators have to be worried. The house wont pass the senate bill and they’re already talking about other strategies, like chopping it up.
Meanwhile the economy continues to circle the bowl.
dogsoldier on January 21, 2010 at 10:35 PM
Bad as ObamaCare is, carbon regulation is worse.
Bad as ObamaCare is, there *is* a real problem of insurance affordability and availability for anyone who’s not in a large group plan. So it’s an attempt, if an overbroad and junked-up one, at solving a real problem and if they’d walk it back to a series of incremental fixes I might even get on board. I’m not sure Obama, Pelosi, Reid et al have the guts to do that, or whether the ‘progressives’ would walk away, but it’d be a reasonable outcome.
Carbon regulation is a crooked concept top to bottom and needs to be killed as viciously as possible.
JEM on January 21, 2010 at 11:02 PM
They all are going down
thmcbb on January 21, 2010 at 8:59 PM
Goin’ down like 2000 flushes.
McBride on January 21, 2010 at 11:15 PM
Related: EPA Administrator Holds Congress Hostage in Separation of Powers Standoff http://optoons.blogspot.com/2009/12/epa-administrator-holds-congress.html
Mervis Winter on January 22, 2010 at 12:00 AM
Correct. Allah is living in a 1/18/10 world.
strictnein on January 22, 2010 at 12:39 AM
Alaska. Where’s this Alaska that everyone is talking about?
Electrongod on January 21, 2010 at 8:43 PM
It doesn’t exist. Yankee go home.
Army Brat on January 22, 2010 at 1:31 AM
No, we aren’t.
OmahaConservative on January 22, 2010 at 1:43 AM
That means it’s another $35 billion to the voters no matter what. Disguising it as a Federal mandate to the states to spend money is a disgusting cheat.
{^_^}
herself on January 22, 2010 at 4:17 AM
Its not that you need 51, the Dems who vote no understand how toxic the bill is, they will be forced to go into full blown opposition to the Obama admin over every issue to save their skins even if they vote no on health care. The old games of letting a few of your party vote no on certain bills to save them politically won’t work on health care. Obama and the Dems know this, if anything expect a small health care bill (no recisons, minor expansion of medicaid, etc).
rob verdi on January 22, 2010 at 6:28 AM
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