* Increases the Odds, says Nathan Empsell at MyDD. "Say what you will about bipartisanship, but this is great news. With luck, John McCain and Lamar Alexander will follow suit. Climate change legislation must pass this year - this is the one issue where Jack Bauer's ticking time bomb actually exists. To pass a bill before that bomb goes off, we will need Republican votes - there is no budget reconciliation for the environment, but there are Democratic nay-saters. For every Evan Bayh, we will need a Lindsay Graham."
* Compromises Were Made, But It Means Copenhagen May Not Be Such a Disappointment, says Steve Benen of the Washington Monthly. "Now, keep in mind, Kerry seems to have accepted quite a few concessions to secure the conservative South Carolinian's support...Time is of the essence. If the basic framework of a deal can be locked down over the next six or seven weeks, the administration won't have to go to Copenhagen empty handed."
* No Compromises Were Made, says Joe Romm at Climate Progress, an expert's blog on climate change written from a progressive viewpoint. "Again, as I've now been quoted in the media pointing out, oil prices are going to soar in the coming years, likely blowing past $100 a barrel in Obama's first term -- and perhaps past $150 a barrel in what will hopefully be his second term (see "Deutsche Bank: Oil to hit $175 a barrel by 2016)." When that happens, Dems are not going to be able to resist the demand for opening more area to drilling anyway -- so they might as well get a climate deal in return now."
* The First Republican Down the Slippery Slope, says Michelle Malkin, a longtime opponent of cap-and-trade bills. "GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham has signed on to the Democrats' massive green redistribution scheme masquerading as a planet-saving, national security-enhancing "energy independence" scheme. Can John McCain and the rest of the Climate Change Republicans be far behind?...Kerry and Graham go on to argue that we must buy into their plan because the EPA regulatory power grab will be worse. It's greenmail: Sign on or else the out-of-control bureaucrats (and the unaccountable energy czar Carol Browner, they fail to mention) will make life even more hellish for businesses and taxpayers."
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/opinions/view/opinion/Republicans-Warm-to-Climate-Change-Legislation-1271So, progressives are more optimistic than they have been for months and the RW is upset -sounds good to me.
I also liked the optimism on
http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2009/10/12/landmark-op-ed-means-climate-legislation/
"Landmark Op-Ed Means Climate Legislation I knew as soon as I read the Op-Ed in the NY Times Sunday co-authored by South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham and John Kerry.
As Energy Smart Now concludes “Let us hope that that “legitimate bipartisan effort” emerges and is reality-based. If it does, again, this might well go down as the most important OPED to appear in an American newspaper in 2009 … and perhaps even longer.”
I am now convinced that the US will pass climate legislation in the Senate. The 60 votes will be there. How do I know? Well, aside from having my useful analysis a the Senate from the summer to move names around, I am certain that if Lindsey Graham supports the bill, John McCain will come along without too much kicking and screaming. They see energy issues very similarly. I already considered the 2 Maine Republican Senators to be good enough on this issue to support a Senate bill. This means the Democrats can survive losing 4 of their own flank in a Senate vote, since at least 4 Republicans are going to vote with the Democrats. Knowing the ability of the Senate leadership to count votes and the behind the scenes work of the Obama administration, there’s just too much room to work with now for this bill to not reach 60 votes for cloture.
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