From the Seattle Times:

Washington, DC – Congressman Dave Reichert (WA-08) released the following statement today after the U.S. House passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act:

“Energy independence and our national security are critical issues for America. These issues transcend politics. The future of this country is on the line and we can spare no effort when it comes to  leading on these issues at a global level.

“This bill is not perfect, but it is a vital step toward energy independence. America cannot maintain global leadership without innovation and new ideas, and we cannot lead if we increasingly depend
on foreign nations to heat our homes and move people and goods. The price of inaction is too great; America cannot stand on the sidelines while our competitors embrace new energy efficient technologies. It’s also important that we engage in a bipartisan discussion as we move forward – this bill has many other hoops to jump through before it becomes law and I will continue to work with my colleagues across the aisle and in the Senate to gain more tax relief for middle-income families.

“Teddy Roosevelt was the true example of a Republican engaged in conserving resources for our children and grandchildren, but he also had the foresight to seek a brighter future for them. Republicans must be at the table as we look for solutions in energy independence and preserving our environment, while also looking at the bigger picture and working with all of our colleagues for a stronger nation.”

OK, breaking this down:

Energy independence and our national security are critical issues for America. These issues transcend politics. The future of this country is on the line and we can spare no effort when it comes to
leading on these issues at a global level.

So far so good.  I agree completely.  It’s of course the Democrat party that is playing Politics with this issue, by ramming it through with minimal debate, or even opportunity for the Representatives to read and digest the bill, with all of its last minute amendments, deals, and PLACEHOLDERS.  That’s right, PLACEHOLDERS.  They voted on a bill with a section that HASN’T EVEN BEEN WRITTEN YET.

Courtesy of Michelle Malkin: 

On the House floor this afternoon, Barney Frank explained the “placeholder” in the cap and trade bill that apparently will deal with regulations of financial derivatives market associated with reducing
carbon emissions.

I feel so much better that we have a PLACEHOLDER in a piece of legislation of this magnitude, controlled by one of the main players in the Sub-Prime Mortgage crises.

This point alone should have been a deal killer.

This bill is not perfect, but it is a vital step toward energy independence. America cannot maintain global leadership without innovation and new ideas, and we cannot lead if we increasingly depend
on foreign nations to heat our homes and move people and goods.

He is right, that this bill is NOT perfect.  It is far from perfect.  Nor will it be a vital step towards energy independence.  What it does is handicap american industry, at the very time that we should be trying to rehabilitate it; and kills more jobs than it will create.  Oh, and as an added bonus, it will greatly increase the cost of energy in the United States, while forcing oil refineries off shore, to nations with far more lax environmental laws.

Courtesy of Bloomberg:

The same amount of gasoline that would have $1 in carbon costs imposed if it were domestic would have 10 cents less added if it were imported, according to energy consulting firm Wood Mackenzie in Houston. Contrary to President Barack Obama’s goal of reducing dependence on overseas energy suppliers, the bill would incent U.S. refiners to import more fuel, said Clayton Mahaffey, an analyst at RedChip Cos. in Maitland, Florida.

So, there go America’s refinery jobs, and with the added bonus of being more dependent on foreign energy!

Back to Reichert:

The price of inaction is too great; America cannot stand on the sidelines while our competitors embrace new energy efficient technologies. It’s also important that we engage in a bipartisan discussion as we move forward – this bill has many other hoops to jump through before it becomes law and I will continue to work with my colleagues across the aisle and in the Senate to gain more tax relief for middle-income families.

We have two “alternative” energy sources available that we are ignoring:  Nuclear and Hydro-Electric.

In fact, according to the Washington Times;

Renewable energy accounts for about 8.5 percent of domestic electricity generation, but the House bill’s renewable mandate would not recognize all of that as renewable. Hydropower, for example, which makes up a large chunk of current electricity generation, is not all counted as renewable toward the new mandate.

So, it has the be the right kind (read: Politically Correct) form of energy…

And as far as “tax relief for middle income families” goes, the idea that more than a pittance of the Cap and Trade money will filter down to the consumer is laughable on it’s face.

Courtesy of Fox/Liz Peek:

A sober assessment of the government’s budget situation over the next decade would lead some to think that there is about as much chance of cap-and-trade revenues being recycled back to taxpayers as there is of Nancy Pelosi taking command of the CIA. The government is looking high and low for revenues to fund healthcare legislation and a slew of other programs; this torrent will be just too delicious to give up.

Remember the Social Security Lockbox?  Just how many times do our Representatives have to lie to us, before we wise up?

But I guess the part that really stings is when Reichert puts himself in the company of Teddy Roosevelt:

“Teddy Roosevelt was the true example of a Republican engaged in conserving resources for our children and grandchildren, but he also had the foresight to seek a brighter future for them. Republicans must be at the table as we look for solutions in energy independence and preserving our environment, while also looking at the bigger picture and working with all of our colleagues for a stronger nation.”

Now, I am a BIG fan of TR – I think he is the quintessential American President.  TR embodied the America of his time.

But TR was unable to curb his own political ambition, and his ill advised run for the Presidency against William Taft (on the Bull Moose party ticket, as he had failed to wrest the Republican nomination from Taft – who was his chosen successor), costing both the election, and allowing Woodrow Wilson to win, with only 42% of the vote.  We are still dealing with the fallout of the Wilson presidency, to this day.

So I guess there is some similarity to TR, after all.

The Republican’s had a far better alternative to the Cap and Tax Economy Killer bill, the American Energy Innovation Act, HR. 2828, which the Democrat Party killed in “Bipartisan” fashion…

The only question I have left for Reichert, not that I expect to ever find out the truth of the matter, is:  Did you vote for this bill out of personal conviction, or were you offered some kind of deal?

All I can say, for myself, is that I refuse to support anyone who puts American families and their well being second to passing what is a really bad piece of legislation, out of the misguided notion that something is better than nothing.

If Reichert (and just two or three other turncoats) had stood strong, they could have forced the Democrat dictators in the House to reconsider their definition of “Bipartisan”.

Thanks, Dave.  Hope you aren’t counting on my vote in 2010.

Maybe Obama is hiring for all the new bureaucracy he is creating…

Tags: Cap and Trade, Reichert