Posted on 04/25/2010 7:35:38 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Barack Obama's climate change agenda was thrown into turmoil Sunday after a key Republican abruptly pulled his support for a compromise energy and climate bill in a blow to Democrats.
Senator Lindsey Graham, an influential Republican, abandoned what Democrats said was a painstakingly negotiated climate bill in outrage over a decision by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to move an immigration bill in the Senate ahead of it.
White House officials appeared to be taken aback by the move, unsure how to respond to the unraveling of a major component of the president's strategy both for meeting his international pledges on climate change and shifting the US economy from its heavy reliance on foreign oil.
"We need and we welcome that cooperation from Senator Graham. They are both important. There is no either/or between energy and immigration reform," said Lawrence Summers, the head of the White House National Economic Council.
"Even though immigration reform and energy reform are both crucial issues for the business community, there has been an enormous back pressure against the kind of bipartisan cooperation that Senator Graham has engaged in, and that perhaps has made this a more complex situation, more difficult for him than it would otherwise be," he told CBS's "Face the Nation" show.
"But we are prepared to go ahead vigorously with any partner who wants to join us on both energy reform and immigration legislation because we think gridlock needs to end," he said.
Reid's sudden shift in legislative priorities comes as Democrats face an increasingly hostile climate in November midterm elections.
Obama won 67 percent of the Hispanic vote in the 2008 presidential elections, but Hispanics have grown impatient with the administration as immigration reform has been sidelined by other priorities.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
But Obama said that we’re going to stop the oceans from rising. Nancy Pelosi said she has a planet to save. How can they back down on cap and tax? We have to buy our carbon credits to save a planet, don’t we?
All this means is that Reid has given the EPA carte Blanc to do whatever it wants in regards to regulating “Greenhouse Gases”, which would be more effective in the Dims eyes than some bill they would see as being “watered down” by Moderates. We are going to get hosed by Cap and Tax either way.
It also means that Obama has told Reid and the Environmentalists that the EPA will “regulate” (Eg Tax) greenhouse gases “better” than the upcoming bill.
Lindsay Grahm must be playing hard to get ,, I’m sure he’ll cave eventually .
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