Steps Forward and Backward on Fighting Global Warming

In a week where a bipartisan group in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee urged the President to address climate change in a significant way during the G8 Summit, and not by agreeing to have more talks, some Democrats in the House are attempting to shanghai important climate change legislation already passed by the states.

Congressman Rick Boucher, representing Virginia's 9th district comes from coal country. Today he teamed up with Congressman John Dingell (MI-15) to propose legislation that would wipe out California's ability to regulate auto emissions in ways that both cut down on smog and reduce total CO2 emissions. In effect, Representative Boucher wants to use his seniority to shove a little more auto smog and coal-fired smoke down Californians' collective throats.

Boucher and Dingell are senior Democrats who don't give a rat's ass what anyone in the grassroots or netroots that just won them a majority perch in Congress thinks of them. They pitched this legislation just as Speaker Nancy Pelosi returned from a trip to Europe building support for progress fighting global warming. Coincidence? Sure. Truth is, Boucher and Dingell were going to do this anyway, and for one reason...they are senior Democrats, hence, they can and they think nobody can stop them.

And, um, nobody can, at lease in the sense of current electoral politics. John Dingell's an institution who will probably drop dead on the House floor. He's been there 50 years. Having lived in his district, there's no chance of anyone booting him. And there's no chance of booting him off the Commerce Committee - too much seniority.

Like it or not, he's also representing his constituents - carmakers. So's Boucher, to an extent: as KO said, he's from coal country.

Frustratin', ain't it?

Fortunately, Madam Speaker is having none of it.

Any legislation that comes to the House floor must increase our energy independence, reduce global warming, invest in new technologies to achieve these goals and create good jobs in America.

Any proposal that affects California’s landmark efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or eliminate the EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions will not have my support.

The question, of course, is this: will it simply not have her support, or will she actively work in her position in the leadership to keep it from coming up for a vote?

You stop these things by electing more and better Democrats who can keep these kinds of pernicious pieces of legislation down. While you're always going to have competing interests in a big-tent party, you can blunt Rep. Dingell and Rep. Boucher on this issue by showing them they have no support. In fact, every Democratic legislator should hear from their constituents on this one and tell them just that.