Cap-and-Tax Bill Still in Trouble

The Dems have high hopes of passing the largest tax increase in history on Friday with the cap-and-tax bill, but they apparently still don't have the votes:

House Democratic leaders are furiously lobbying their members and moderate Republicans to support a landmark energy bill in the face of resistance from some conservative members of their own party, and staunch opposition from the GOP — roadblocks that are making it difficult to find the 218 votes necessary to pass the measure, according to Democratic leadership aides.

A vote on the Clean Energy and Security Act, which would restrict emissions of green house gases and require use of alternative energy in an effort to slow the effects of global warming, is scheduled for Friday.

The legislation's lead sponsors held a pep rally outside the Capitol on Wednesday to whip up support for the legislation's passage.

"We are going to pass the most important energy and environment bill in history," declared Rep Ed Markey, D-Masachusetts, chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. "We are going to reduce the carbon we send up into the atmosphere but at the same time we are going to begin to back out the oil that we import from countries that we should not be importing it from."

The legislation would require a 17 percent emissions reduction from 2005 levels by 2020, mandate electric utilities to meet 20% of their electricity demand through renewable energy sources by 2020, provide $90 billion for new investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy, along with $60 billion for carbon capture and sequestration. Another key provision, termed "cap-and-trade," would require industries and manufacturers to cut carbon emissions by setting up a system where they could buy and sell pollution credits.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi conceded Wednesday evening that there were not enough votes to pass the bill, but that meetings with Democrats and Republicans were ongoing. Many Democrats from rural districts are concerned about the bill's effect on the manufacturing of ethanol and other biofuels, while Republicans have questioned the overall price tag to Americans.

There shouldn't be a single Republican vote for this thing, and Democrats in rural areas and those states where cap-and-tax will hit hardest should flee from this thing if they want to return to Congress in 2011. I hear they're even dragging Al Gore away from the buffet line to try and shove thing thing through. Maybe he's going to threaten to sit on wayward Dems.

My guess is the Dems will try to strong-arm their members but will still fall short.