Reply #7: Why the hell is NPR writing an editorial against Kerry's bill? [View All]

[ProSense]

Worse, they're fearmongering against both bills:

National Review: The Cap-And-Trade Subterfuge

by The Editors

In the wake of the BP spill, Democrats face what might appear to be an intractable political dilemma. They are under enormous pressure to pass some kind of energy bill, yet the energy bill they want to pass — one that places onerous restrictions on the use of fossil fuels — lacks the requisite support in the Senate. Fortunately for them, and unfortunately for the nation, the Democrats don't need to pass a cap-and-trade bill in order to implement cap-and-trade. Obama's EPA can do the unpopular work of rationing energy consumption while Congress can do the popular work of handing out big bags of money to the green lobby and spanking the oil companies with a handful of tax hikes.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) tipped the Democrats' hand yesterday. Speaking on MSNBC, Schumer noted that Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D., N.M.) passed a bill through the Energy and Natural Resources Committee last year that included massive expansions in subsidies for renewable-energy companies but did not include a cap-and-trade component. Bingaman's bill would serve as the "base" for the Senate's energy bill, Schumer said, while the cap-and-trade bill drawn up by Sens. John Kerry (D., Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I., Conn.) would be offered "in the form of an amendment." If the Kerry-Lieberman cap-and-trade amendment is voted down, the Democrats will still be able to take credit for passing a subsidy-rich energy bill without requiring their more vulnerable members to vote for higher energy costs in the midst of a recession.

The Democrats probably don't have any choice but to handle it this way. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) — the only Republican who had been willing to work with Democrats on a cap-and-trade bill — has pulled his support. Nor is it clear that the Maine ladies, Republicans Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, could bail the Democrats out this time: Sen. Ben Nelson (D., Neb.) has predicted that no cap-and-trade bill can get 60 votes in the Senate right now, signaling that he and other moderate Democrats would oppose any bill that made energy more expensive, particularly if forced to vote on such a bill right before an election.

Make no mistake: Even without cap-and-trade, the Bingaman bill would cost taxpayers and ratepayers plenty. We could ill afford the increase in green-energy subsidies even if our deficits weren't setting new records each month. And the bill includes a requirement that utility companies sharply increase the percentage of their electricity that they generate from renewable sources, which will result in higher energy bills.

more

Assholes.