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Has the White House decided global warming is a losing issue?

By: Timothy P. Carney
Examiner Columnist
06/27/09 3:40 PM EDT

Read the President's remarks Friday night after the House passed the measure most Capitol Hill staff and press referred to as the Waxman-Markey climate bill. You'll notice some words that the President never speaks: "climate," "warming," "greenhouse," "carbon," "cap-and-trade," or "emissions."

If you went by President Obama's words alone, you would think this bill had nothing to do with capping greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to battle climate change. He has vague talk of praising "action" and "change" over "inaction" and the "status quo." He talks about "clean energy," and once about "pollution." But he completely ignores the aspect of this bill that garnered almost all of the media, lobbyist, and congressional attention: that the bill, for the first time in history, regulates the emission of carbon dioxide from many U.S. sources.

Does this reflect a White House perception that climate change is a losing issue?

Well, the chart at right (click here to see it more clearly), from a poll taken by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (a group that did not oppose the bill) shows that only 13% of those polled would put up with even a 10% increase in electricity bill for the sake of reducing emissions.

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Reader Comments

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ceolas

Jun 27, 2009

About "increase in electricity bill" It keeps being trotted out how the extensive Waxman-Markey energy efficiency regulation is "so good for consumers to keep down their costs". Yes, ban consumers from buying what they want and applaud the savings! (Little savings in banning impopular products, and inefficient products need to be popular or noone would buy them, classic example Edison’s light bulb, bought 19 times out of 20 in the USA and therefore a banning priority with a big section 211 all to its own in the Waxman-Markey Bill!). The fact is that efficiency regulation on a product sacrifices performance, construction, appearance and price features, and does not necessarily give the savings suggested anyway. See http://ceolas.net/#cc2x onwards regarding the effect efficiency regulations have on buildings, lightbulbs, cars, dishwashers and other products.

diana

Jun 27, 2009

They are not using the words associated with global warming because I think this bill is to pay for some other scheme by obama that is unrelated to global warming and trying to "protect" the enviornment.

UKTom.

Jun 27, 2009

Lord help the USA and us (UK) if this bill is passed by the Senate, hopefully it will not do so, I think Obama is hoping this too. Maybe he has read the report the EPA tried to suppress: http://www.cei.org/cei_files/fm/active/0/EndangermentComments6-23-09pdf

RHO1953

Jun 27, 2009

I am getting pretty close to giving up on my country. This is the worst piece of legislation in history. It is nothing less than a bullet to the head of manufacturing in this country and the road to utility bills that will equal mortgage payments. There will be HELL to pay if this passes the Senate when the public figures out what is really at stake.

AST

Jun 28, 2009

It might be wise to put this off until after he has proven that he can fix the economy, because this bill will be like pouring water on a drowning man. Having a big majority in Congress is probably the biggest threat to his presidency. And I agree totally with RHO1953!

gtownconservative

Jun 28, 2009

This really was never about the environment. It was another ploy by the Obama Maffia to gain control of more industries. Hurt small business, then come in and take control.

bobc

Jun 28, 2009

Well today we know it passed in the House with 8 RINO's. Foreign countries have already tried this, and they lost massive amounts of jobs, one windmill company even laid off the people and shipped the jobs to China...see, they too were told it would create jobs that would not leave!

HellMan

Jun 28, 2009

Send that Moron back to Kenya before he destroys this country. He still has not shown his birth certificate. I have lost all faith is the Supreme Court because they will not look into the missing birth certificate.

Rick

Jun 28, 2009

The Democrats/Socialists/Progressives are not stupid, so to make more taxes palatable they use the made up issue of a global warming "crisis". I'm sure they know the Earth has had 6 ice ages during its life and they surely know no one can prove humans are the cause of global warming (if in fact it is warming). I cannot believe they would pass a monster bill, such as this, if they believed humans are causing global warming without having proof.

Kevin

Jun 29, 2009

About the "suppressed" document: http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2009/06/bubkes/#more-691 For the unlikely few of you interested in actual science, a list of resources: http://www.desmogblog.com/is-climate-change-real Please stop being so credulous. It makes you (us) look really stooooopid.

Reaganite Republican

Jun 29, 2009

Obama claimed that the average American would not bear the brunt of this historic tax-increase: he stated that instead ““It is paid for by the polluters who currently emit dangerous carbon emissions.” Just compare this outrageous falsehood to Ronald Reagans’ timeless wisdom: “The most dangerous myth is the demagoguery that business can be made to pay a larger share, thus relieving the individual. Politicians preaching this are either deliberately dishonest, or economically illiterate, and either one should scare us. …Only people pay taxes, and people pay as consumers every tax that is assessed against a business.” And after the way the rammed this through the House with little debate, without legislators even reading it… and while quarantining the GOP from any meaningful input whatsoever, any foolhardy individuals who still believe Obama’s threadbare “bipartisanship” spiel ought to have their head examined. http://reaganiterepublicanresistance.blogspot.com

Reaganite Republican

Jun 29, 2009

RHO1953

Jun 29, 2009

The gist of this bill is control. Control of energy and it's cost. Control of the population by making it too expensive to travel or own a car. Central planning to force more people into cities and away from the suburbs. We are sliding backwards to the pre-industrial age when only the wealthy had mobility. That is the goal, to have the common man working full time just to survive while the autocrats live in style, traveling prodigiously, jetting around and riding in limos. This is the reality of Obamanomics. It will force industrial production to leave the country. We are already seeing statements from energy companies that they will close refineries and import fuel. How is that energy independence? We have to stop this insanity immediately.

Commonsense

Jun 29, 2009

More Obammie lib dumocrat socialist crap. 2010 can't come soon enough!

SEZME66

Jun 29, 2009

don't think for one second that they will abandon this farce; it's the third leg of the power takeover.

Chuck in Virginia

Jun 30, 2009

RHO1953 Points well taken. This is the message we need to send to our senators. Hopefully the Senate will not be the rubber stamp that Pelosi's House is.

Solution

Jun 30, 2009

Science tells us that we expel 2.2 lbs of CO2 per day. That comes out to about 60,000 lbs for a persons life! Maybe the committed leftists should consider suicide to help their fellow man.

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Has the White House decided global warming is a losing issue?

By: Timothy P. Carney
Examiner Columnist
06/27/09 3:40 PM EDT