Bad Days In The Congress

I thought that the very progressive energy bill's defeat in the Senate was actually a positive thing until I saw the roll call. To break the Republican filibuster, we need 60 votes. We got 53, with five not voting. I assumed that the Presidentials were all out on the road, with 4 Democratic votes out there. But actually, 5 Republicans didn't vote for this, preferring to opt out of a tough vote and shield themselves from criticism.

There were 5 Republicans that voted with the majority of Democrats on this bill (Smith, Snowe, Collins, Coleman, Thune), along with Joe Lieberman. This suggests that we have a decent shot at getting a less progressive energy bill passed if certain provisions are stripped out of it. Grist suggests what will go.

Republican leaders in the Senate now hope to strip out two key provisions of the bill: a Renewable Portfolio Standard mandating that utilities produce 15 percent of their energy from renewables by 2020, and a provision that would cut tax breaks and subsidies for oil companies. President Bush wants those components out of the bill too, and has said he would veto the bill if they're not removed. If the Senate does change the bill, it will need to return to the House for another vote, where advocates for clean energy won't be happy with a watered-down version.

That's depressing, but the fuel economy standards would be a step forward, and hopefully they can at least salvage the renewable energy standard, which would be a major job creator, and would make America a leader in renewable energy.

Unfortunately, this is about the best thing that the Congress has managed the last couple days. Senate leaders nixed the hate crimes bill because it included gay and transgender Americans. The House passed - by a vote of 409 to 2 - a bill that would fine anyone with an open WiFi connection up to $300,000 if illegal images are accessed through their service. And the Senate, in one of the most irresponsible votes I've ever seen, voted to repeal the AMT without using Paygo rules, essentially removing $50 billion in revenue without replacing it, pushing even more of a burden on to the next generation.

It's pretty depressing when the BEST thing the Congress has done lately is lose a filibuster fight by only 7 votes.