Swing Senators Urge Climate Action
Monday, March 22, 2010 at 5:35 pm
The Senate is expected to pass the House’s health care reconciliation fix this week — and after the upper chamber’s members return from spring recess, they can finally turn their attention to other major legislation. But environmental advocates have feared that with a jobs bills, financial regulation and possibly immigration reform on the table, comprehensive climate legislation could get pushed back until it’s too late.
Today, 22 Democratic senators signed a letter urging action on a climate bill this year. And while the support of less than half the Democratic caucus wouldn’t ordinarily be noteworthy, what’s interesting here is the makeup of the letter’s signatories: They’re almost all moderates or representatives of states with significant industrial or fossil fuel interests. Take a look at the list (via Dave Roberts):
- Tom Udall (NM)
- Jeanne Shaheen (NH)
- Michael Bennet (CO)
- Kay Hagan (NC)
- Ron Wyden (OR)
- Mark Begich (AK)
- Sherrod Brown (OH)
- Tom Harkin (IA)
- Tom Carper (DE)
- Mark Udall (CO)
- Al Franken (MN)
- Debbie Stabenow (MI)
- Jeff Merkley (OR)
- Patty Murray (WA)
- Ted Kaufman (DE)
- [Roland] Burris (IL)
- Bob Casey Jr. (PA)
- Mark Warner (VA)
- Maria Cantwell (WA)
- Arlen Specter (PA)
- Jon Tester (MT)
- Amy Klobuchar (MN)
Not exactly jam-packed with coastal liberals. As Roberts points out, Casey, Begich, Tester, Stabenow and Cantwell are all arguably fence-sitters on the issue — and a number of others have expressed reservations about carbon-capping legislation.
The full letter is available here (PDF).
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Comment posted March 25, 2010 @ 8:26 pm
Jon Tester is marching in lock step with his social-justice boss man, Barack Obama, hell-bent on crushing Montana small businesses and causing an unprecedented transfer of wealth from the private sector to the government sector. Tester’s business-toxic policies and his socialist agenda threaten to destroy the future of Montana small business.
Tester’s mechanism to effect this transfer is his healthcare fiasco, which will push Montana small businesses past the point of no return, and he fully understands this. The tax burden Jon Tester has levied upon Montana small businesses will be overwhelming and unsustainable. Tester’s crippling legislation will make it much more difficult to start and run a small business in Montana, and the end result will be less innovation and far fewer viable business startups.
In response to complaints from Montana business owners, Jon Tester is offering “tax breaks.” But faced with bankruptcy and ultimate business insolvency, Montana business owners are ignoring these misguided and deceptive “tax-breaks.” In fear of Tester’s acidic government programs and socialist vision, Montana business owners are running for the hills and refusing to hire new workers.
What good are tax breaks when the business environment—under the tremendous burden of Tester’s stifling legislation—has grown so toxic that it is impossible to make a profit in the first place? Since there will be no profits to tax, Tester’s supposed “tax breaks” are meaningless, and any savvy business owner understands this basic law of business.
Tester and his socialist cronies do not understand this simple concept, however, and for one glaring reason: government entities never have to worry about making a profit—or breaking even. They are immune to and thus ignorant of the fundamental laws of business.
Democrats have a long-standing tradition of stuffing anti-business legislation down the throats of their constituents, but this time two critical factors are different:
1) The economy will not recover because of the overwhelming national debt burden
2) Jon Tester’s socialist agenda
Factor 1: The Economy
Traditionally, when democrats take control of the lawmaking process, they are quick to implement excessive redistribution programs that blindly impose additional tax burdens, all in the name of “social justice.” This has two effects. First, freedom and innovation and free enterprise die to some degree. Second, an already over-bloated government swells ever larger, further choking the private sector, which ironically it relies on to sustain it (with tax dollars).
In times past, the Democrats’ ill-conceived wealth redistribution programs were not as business-toxic because the economy was strong enough to sustain them and recover. But things have changed dramatically this time around. The national debt is so high that the economy has lost its resiliency.
We can no longer deny it: we are in a DEPRESSION, not a RECESSION, and this time we are not bouncing back, at least not any time soon. Democrats have ignored this and they have ignored the national public opinion polls, which indicate that Americans are strongly against their programs. In defiance of their constituents, Jon Tester and his fellow Democrats have charged ahead blindly with their massive—and highly toxic—redistribution programs.
Factor #2: Jon Tester is an angry socialist with a redistribution agenda.
His anger is focused directly on small business and the American way of life. He plans to see the traditional American business sector—the backbone of Montana and of America itself—totally dismantled and destroyed.
Jon Tester plans to transform America. He intends to replace our democracy with a European-style socialist government where he and his Democrat cohorts will remain in office in perpetuity, watching over our shoulders as we pass from cradle to grave. In Tester’s distorted worldview, the best way to accomplish this transformation is to destroy small business.
Along with the failed American economy, Tester’s healthcare tax missile will deliver the second punch of a one-two knockout combination designed to incapacitate Montana small business-and the American way of life—forever.
Jon Tester’s next target for a socialist missile: The Financial System
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