If You Think Health Care Is Fun, Wait for the Energy Bill

There are a couple front-pagers today bout the looming battle over the climate change bill, which is on the Congressional line-up after health care. It doesn't take a very deep read to see the climate change imbroglio is going to look less like a sequel to health reform, and more like one of those movie remakes like Psycho where different actors play the same parts but most of the movie is faithfully recreated, shot for shot.



Socialism Rumors
"Opponents of climate legislation are stoking the same "big government" fears that have made health care so divisive"- BusinessWeek

Infighting Among Dems
"The Democratic party is already fractured over climate legislation. Coal, oil, and manufacturing state lawmakers have warned about the costs for their regions. Sen. Byron Dorgan (D., N.D.), has said that Congress should drop its plan to hand out allowances granting the right to pollute up to a limit, or cap. Democrats from the manufacturing-heavy Midwest have warned that climate legislation must include tariffs on countries that fail to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions." - Wall Street Journal

Calls for More Obama Involvement
"Many people think Mr. Obama must become personally involved in order to smooth out opposition. A number of energy bill observers say that Mr. Obama has so far failed to engage on the issue in basic ways, giving opponents an opportunity to define a climate bill as a large tax on consumers." - WSJ

Frustrated Liberals
"Complicating matters, some environmental activists are opposing the current House bill for being too weak..." - BW

Teaming Special Interests
"...while groups that want even more than they got in the House legislation, such as the farm lobby, are lining up for special treatment in a Senate bill." - BW

Artificial Deadlines
"The widely watched deadline is for Senate action ahead of December's international climate-change talks in Copenhagen. The Copenhagen meeting is where countries will try to reach a pact on emission-reductions after 2012, when a current treaty expires." - WSJ

Pressure to Scale Back Ambitions
"An easier solution might be to pass a scaled-back energy package -- but that could be an affront to the House of Representatives. That's because House lawmakers cast tough votes earlier this year when the chamber narrowly passed an energy and climate bill." - WSJ