Beam me to Planet Gore !
Posted on 10/14/2009 10:26:08 AM PDT by rabscuttle385
Periodically, a Republican senator is seized with desire to be the front man for the Democrats' latest regulatory monstrosity in Washington. Sen. Lindsay Graham of South Carolina is now in the throes of this pathological urge, which usually appears just when defeat seems imminent for a big-government scheme like the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade energy bill. Democrats and their liberal buddies in the mainstream media need only whisper the magic word "bipartisanship" and soon enough along comes a gullible GOPer to take the bait.
Graham made clear in a Sunday New York Times op-ed written with Sen. John Kerry, D-MA, that he will support cap-and-trade if Democrats agree to expand nuclear power and off-shore oil and natural gas development. Kerry is the Senate point man in the Democrats' campaign to pass a Senate version of the 1,400-plus page Waxman-Markey bill approved earlier this year by the House. Graham's approach sounds like a reasonable "let's just split the difference" compromise. The problem is that no matter what Kerry and the Democrats agree to now in order to sucker Graham and similarly na?ve Republicans, environmental activists and sympathetic federal bureaucrats will file endless legal and administrative challenges to stall and ultimately veto more nuclear power production or development of America's bountiful off-shore energy supplies. Meanwhile, the Democrats' cap-and-trade bill will almost immediately begin inflicting devastating economic consequences that will be with us for decades.
Here's why: The U.S. economy depends on carbon-based fuels, which account for 85 percent of the energy we use. That won't change anytime soon, no matter how many billions of tax dollars Congress and President Obama spend on alternative energy development. Cap-and-trade establishes a $700 billion government-run "market" for business to buy and sell a steadily declining number of permits for creating carbon emissions. Confusing? Imagine a steadily tightening choke-hold on your windpipe and you've got what cap-and-trade will do to America's economy.
Forcing the private economy to use less conventional energy while waiting for the government-subsidized alternative energy sources to come online will cost millions of jobs and send energy prices skyrocketing as corporations pass along to consumers the $700 billion of for those permits. As a result, according to the Center for Data Analysis at the Heritage Foundation, gas prices at the pump will increase 58 percent, or $1.38 per gallon. Residential electricity costs will zoom up by 90 percent. Nearly 1.9 million jobs will be lost by 2012 overall, and the economy will lose nearly $10 trillion in gross domestic product by 2035. But no worry, Lindsay Graham will still be hailed as a bipartisan kind of guy.
They can agree to do it in one breath and the leftist NGOs will sue on environmental grounds to preclude it with the other. To believe that the left cares about anything other than the power is delusional.
Lindsey Graham is not GULLIBLE. He wants to belong to the power elite and will betray any “scruples” or “principles” he may once have CLAIMED to believe.
Remember during the Harriet Myers fiasco, he was telling conservative to “just shut up, y’all. Just shut up.”
He’s no friend of the republic and the voters of South Carolina need to vote ENTIRELY democratic next time. I think we’re going to have to lose all these repubs to the dems before we can rebuild.
Is there any way South Carolina can recall Graham?
The only news I get on TV is CBS. They continually show the ‘republican side’ with two people...McCain and Graham. Graham was on last night again. NO wonder people have given up on the GOP.
“soon enough along comes a gullible GOPer to take the bait.”
Bwahahahahahahahahahahaha. That line is classic and right to the heart of the matter. Lindsay is such a buffoon.
(1) Allow recycling of nuclear fuel.
(2) Open that nuke waste repository at Yucca Mountain, NV.
(3) Build lots more nuke plants, and allow expansion of existing nuke plants.
When it comes to “bipartisanship”, Mr. Graham clearly enjoys taking a wide stance.
No, we should give Graham a primary challenge. Whether he loses in the primary or in the general, he needs to lose.
Although SC is in the south, it's also one of the most heavily-black states (29%), so any Republican starts out at a disadvantage.
No, we need to close our primary so that crossover voters do not choose our candidate for the general election.
Graham's last Democrat challenger received almost no support from his party in '08 because he was more conservative than Lindsey. Party line Republicans voted for the more liberal candidate simply due to the (R) after his name.
We need to CLOSE our primary, and then run a solid conservative against Graham. It is the ONLY way to get rid of the traitor.
There is absolutely nothing rats can do to make the situatin better (accept die) Never under any circumstances help them ruin our country. Most understand this, but lg obviously smarter than anybody else can’t figure this out.
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