Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) is upset with regulations issued by Obama’s EPA to regulate carbon emissions. These regulations are one of the ways Obama will implement parts of his cap-and-trade plans without Congress having to pass a cap-and-trade bill.
Since West Virginia is a big coal state, and would be negatively affected, Rockefeller has been trying to get the Senate to pass legislation limiting the authority of the EPA.
It’s not going to happen in this Congress, and Rockefeller is upset.
So Rockefeller lashed out, not at Obama or the multitude of Democrats who support cap-and-trade by regulation, but at Republicans:
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), blaming Republicans, admitted defeat Friday in his long-shot bid to advance legislation this year that would delay looming Environmental Protection Agency climate change rules.
Rockefeller — who says the rules will harm his coal-heavy state — had vowed Thursday to try and force a vote on the measure, but now admits it’s on ice for the year.
“I have been reliably informed that long-time Republican proponents of my bill to suspend EPA regulations on greenhouse gas emissions have pulled their support for this year — so that they can gain some political advantage trying to take over this issue in 2011,” he said in a statement Friday.
“Momentum has been building on the Democratic side for my EPA delay bill, but this is of necessity a bipartisan proposal and it cannot proceed without strong Republican support and effort,” he added
Rockefeller has his own party to blame, and no one else. Harry Reid could have made the legislation a priority, but Reid didn’t with good reason. Passing Rockefeller’s legislation in the Senate would have been a futile gesture since there is no way Nancy Pelosi’s House would go along.
Rockefeller accuses Republicans of playing politics, but the reality is that it is a Democratic President and a Democratic House who are to blame.
The Republican House will pass legislation next year, and then we’ll see how quickly Reid cooperates with Rockefeller, and then see if Obama issues a veto.
Chances are that Obama will lose West Virginia in 2012 anyway, so there is little likelihood Rockefeller will get his way. Will Rockefeller then lash out at Obama, or just find another way to blame Republicans?
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Comments
Rocky will blame the GOP at his own peril. He's already got a target on him, just keep it up. It's easier to zero in when he keeps popping his head up above ground. He's better off if he Sierra-Tango-Foxtrot-Uniform.