House GOP Looking For Friendly Dems To Stop Pollution Legislation
CQ reports that House Republicans are trying to forge alliances with Democrats from industrial states to fight the objectives of the Democratic leadership on pollution. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is looking for Dems to support legislation barring the EPA from regulation carbon dioxide, and Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) has said that a carbon tax or cap-and-trade "amount to a declaration of economic war on the Midwest by Democrats on Capitol Hill."
-From Talking Points Memo (TPM) morning roundup. Is this how climate advocates are going to let moderate Democrats get their tips on climate policy? Or will a serious effort be launched to find an effective policy that can secure political consensus and the backing of critical moderate swing vote?
A quick thought on messaging I had today, after reading http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/04/envrionmental-inverted-pyramid.html.
Should progressive Dems play the "it's a tax!" game as well? I'd love to see how it'd play out to present climate change itself as a tax on water, on farmers, on foresters, and on fisheries. If you wanted to get real Roveian, you could even call it a "child tax".
Then we could try and frame this as a fight between new taxes on big oil, or even heftier taxes on everybody who drinks water or works on a farm.
I'd love to hear your thoughts. keep up the great work,
Posted by: Keith Brower Brown at April 26, 2009 5:50 PMKBB