Cap-and-Trade or Duck-and-Hide ?

Commentary ^ | July 09, 2009 | Jennifer Rubin

[RobinMasters]

The squeaker vote on cap-and-trade has proven so popular in the Senate and the president’s words of encouragement so compelling that liberal Sen. Barabara Boxer is burying it — maybe forever. This report explains:

President Barack Obama’s push for quick action by Congress on climate change legislation suffered a setback on Thursday when the U.S. Senate committee leading the drive delayed work on the bill until September.

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer said her self-imposed deadline of early August for finishing writing a bill to combat global warming has been put off until after Congress returns from a recess that ends in early September.

“We’ll do it as soon as we get back” from that break, Boxer told reporters. Asked if this delay jeopardizes chances the Senate will pass a bill this year, Boxer said, “Not a bit … we’ll be in (session) until Christmas, so I’m not worried about it.” But Boxer did not guarantee Congress will be able to finish a bill and deliver it to Obama by December, when he plans to attend an international summit on climate change in Copenhagen.

[Rudder]

...Boxer did not guarantee Congress will be able to finish a bill and deliver it to Obama by December...

Pushing this already shaky bill in mid-winter makes for a tough sell.

[Windflier]

We may have blessedly passed the point where Obama’s approval numbers were so high that he could get any legislation he wanted through congress. With every tick down of his approval index, opposition to his agenda ticks up.

Obama and the Dems are having a tough time selling Cap & Trade and Nationalized Health Care now. It’ll be harder and harder to do, with every week that passes, given the trend of his approval index.