Why the President's Speech Killed Carbon
For those of you who watched the President's remarks (see 6/16 post) on Tuesday regarding the BP oil disaster, one thing was obvious: carbon cap-and-trade is dead. While the President clearly signaled for Congress to act on a comprehensive energy bill, he unmistakably shifted course from his carbon agenda, failing to mention the terms carbon or cap-and-trade even once. Carbon cap-and-trade has long stood at the forefront of Obama's policy goals; however, last night's speech was a marked shift away from his climate agenda.
The President claimed that he was "happy to look at other ideas and approaches from either party - as long as they seriously tackle our addiction to fossil fuels." Although Obama expressed a willingness to consider alternative energy and climate bills than the ones that have already been introduced, it is clear Obama doesn't have much faith in the Senate's ability to garner 60 votes for a carbon bill.
I think, if anything, Obama is a realist. Considering Scott Brown's election and the Democrats' majority includes a handful of Blue Dog Democrats (read: Democrats only by name) and a coterie of spineless Senators only concerned with their self-preservation (yes, you Blanche Lincoln), it is a Herculean task to reach 60 votes on anything that includes a carbon cap. Let's just hope that the watered down bill that makes it out of the Senate includes something meaningful.
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