Has John McCain Gone Cool on Global Warming Legislation?

The New York Times ^ | 2009-07-16 | Darren Samuelson

[rabscuttle385]

Sen. John McCain once reveled in his stance as a maverick of the Republican Party on climate change. Now, as the Senate prepares a new bill, the party's 2008 presidential nominee has people wondering whose side he's on.

McCain opened the year critical of President Obama's plan to pay for middle-class tax cuts with global warming legislation. He called the House-passed bill a "1,400-page monstrosity," pointing out special giveaways to reluctant lawmakers and provisions that threaten to spark an international trade war.

While McCain has built a reputation as a critic of government excess, his complaints about the Democrat-led effort to overhaul U.S. climate policy have stumped many longtime advocates who often looked to him for leadership during eight years of the Bush administration.

"If you're a climate champion, then you need to be in there doing something constructive and not just throwing bombs at a package," said Sandy Bahr, director of the Arizona chapter of the Sierra Club. "From where I sit in Arizona, it seems like he's not been particularly constructive on this. We'd love for him to be." Sources following McCain offer a number of explanations for his recent behavior. Some say this is just McCain being himself, voicing his opposition to specifics in the House bill that look like earmarks or policies that disrupt free trade. Others see a lawmaker struggling to find a voice on the issue now that Bush is out of office, especially since the Republican Party sees the legislation as political red meat. It could also be that McCain sees others taking away the spotlight on an issue he had long been associated with.

[rabscuttle385]

Others see a lawmaker struggling to find a voice on the issue now that Bush is out of office, especially since the Republican Party sees the legislation as political red meat.

McNuts is toast in 2010.

[rabscuttle385]

McCain is pining for the political fjords.

The Juan McCain Truth File. "I have great respect for Al Gore." —John McCain, October 2, 2008 FR Keywords: mccaintruthfile, mcqueeg, mcbama Please tag all relevant threads with the aforementioned keywords. This can be a very high-volume ping list at times. To join the ping list: FReepmail rabscuttle385 with the subject line add  mccaintruthfile. (Stop getting pings by sending the subject line drop mccaintruthfile.)   Republican Commissar’s Warning: By joining this ping list, you may be subjected to the delusional rants and ramblings of McCainiacs, of "moderate" Republicans, of pragmatic conservatives resigned to voting for the lesser of two Democrats, and of countless RNC shills who simply want to meet a new overlord.

[rabscuttle385]

-

[Boiling Pots]

Don’t worry watermelons, McCain will not let you down.

[Old Retired Army Guy]

Maybe someone explained the facts of the Global Warming Fraud to him. My take on a lot of these guys who buy into “Global Warming” is they have heard the propoganda and not done their homework. Hell, the other night, O’Reilly was blasting Cap and Trade and in the same breath accepted Global Warming as “Proven Science. I almost fell out of my chair, I was so angry, I sent him an email and told him to sit down with Laura Ingraham who has done her homework on this farce.

[steelyourfaith]

My highly placed off-the-record DC source said on July 15 that the reaction against passage of the Waxman-Markey bill was overwhelming across the country. He has heard moderate and Blue Dog Democrats who voted for it say that blowback they are getting from constituents was unbelievable and that one of the Republicans who voted for it told him that the Fourth of July recess back in the district had been the worst week of his life.

Keep those phone calls coming into DC when the Senate takes up Cap & Trade in September, folks, and also when they start the Obamacare push in Congress.

 

Beam me to Planet Gore !

[Eric in the Ozarks]

McCain changes his mind five times before he gets out of bed.

[xcamel]

FReepmail me to get on or off

Ping me if you find one I've missed.

---

One could only hope, but few will care...

[rabscuttle385]

But Lieberman, the Democrats' 2000 vice presidential nominee and rumored to be on McCain's short list for the VP nomination last year, said that he would soon make a push with McCain as part of a broader effort to rally moderate senators on the issue.

[Boiling Pots]

McCain surely consults the NY Times and Wash Post ed boards before he makes his final decisions, because he loves to be loved by them.

[pallis]

Whatever the kook comes up with, rest assured it will have all of his aisle crossing, media moment characteristics. When politicians say “climate,” they are having a hot air attack, and McCain is an expert at that.

[kittymyrib]

McCain’s act is over. Dump him, Arizona.

[Above My Pay Grade]

“Now, as the Senate prepares a new bill, the party’s 2008 presidential nominee has people wondering whose side he’s on.”

THIS is NEWS?

[DoughtyOne]

McCain buys into the global warming nonsense. Just one more endearing factor with McCain.

[Carl LaFong]

J Mac. will consult his vacuum-headed daughter before making a final decision.

[dennisw]

McCain is senile.
McCain is an opportunist ... But he is not so senile he doesn’t see that public sentiment is changing. America is discovering what a sham global warming is and how cap n trade will kill them financially. McCain is smart enough to not support a losing cause

[Reeses]

"If you're a climate champion, then you need to be in there doing something constructive and not just throwing bombs

Leftists have something really wicked going on just beneath their green with envi-mentalist mask.

[kabar]

McCain is changing his position because he is up for reelection in 2010. He must figure out how to reverse his position while still supporting the reduction of carbon emissions. If he is reelected, he will go back to his former position. McCain is a political hack who has always run on his resume. He needs to be defeated in the 2010 primary.

[mallardx]

And Newt too. I'm thinking he must have been on drugs to get on TV with Nancy Pelosi and tell us how the sky is falling beacuse of Carbon. Now that was a career-killer!

[FreedomPoster]

>>one of the Republicans who voted for it told him that the Fourth of July recess back in the district had been the worst week of his life.

Good. Music to my ears.