Cap and Trade Enthusiasts Flinch

It seems like only a few weeks ago that cap and trade’s BFF Sen. Lindsey Graham was extolling the virtues of this economic trainwreck.  That’s because it was only a few weeks ago.

In the meantime, a lot has happened.  Massachusetts elected Scott Brown to the Senate – an opponent of cap and trade.  And,  our fair Senator has received quite an earful from his own constituents.  South Carolina activists have been making visits to his district offices for weeks, sending emails opposing the legislation, and heating up the phone lines with their outrage – not to mention the occasional protest.

According to the New York Times, that all may be paying off.   All of a sudden, cap and tax isn’t “business friendly enough” and “it drives up energy costs.”  Well, this is a revelation!

Republicans, industry executives and some Democrats have already written cap and trade’s obituary, at least for this year. And even some of the system’s most ardent supporters now say they must scale back their ambitions and focus on job-creating energy projects and energy efficiency measures if they are to have any hope of dealing with climate change in this Congress.

“Realistically, the cap-and-trade bills in the House and the Senate are going nowhere,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, who is trying to fashion a bipartisan package of climate and energy measures. “They’re not business-friendly enough, and they don’t lead to meaningful energy independence.”

…

“What is dead is some massive cap-and-trade system that regulates carbon in a fashion that drives up energy costs,” he said.

We’re glad the Senator seems to have wised up a bit, but we wouldn’t be shocked to hear him say the opposite on Monday.  Until the bill is six feet under, we aren’t backing down.