President Obama has used the threat of new EPA carbon regulations to pressure Congress into adopting futile and economy-busting caps on carbon emissions. Today, the Senate will pronounce its verdict on these gangster government tactics by voting on a resolution disapproving them.

The vote on the so-called Murkowski resolution is important because it forces the Senate to do something it has been avoiding for political reasons. After letting House Democrats walk the plank on cap-and-trade (Democratic Rep. Alan Mollohan’s cooperation in moving that bill last June has already cost him his seat in West Virginia), the Senate has been avoiding the issue to the extent possible. Assuming that Senate Democrats manage to avoid such a politically damaging vote until November, this will be the Senate’s cap and trade vote.