Where's the straight talk express when you need it?

Green stimulus bill falls short by one vote -- McCain's vote -- in Senate

Posted by David Roberts at 4:16 PM on 06 Feb 2008

Read more about: politics | economy

So, remember the stimulus bill? The one with all the green tax breaks and incentives?

It lost today in the Senate today, by one vote.

Every Dem voted for it, as did moderate Republicans Specter, Collins, Snowe, Smith, and Coleman, plus Grassley, Dole, and Domenici.

Gregg and Sununu voted the wrong way (as they did on the energy bill).

So who could have made the difference on this crucial fight in the battle against global warming? Why, maverick climate crusader John McCain!

Only he did not elect to return to D.C. and vote. And so the bill died. What a maverick!

Here's the Sierra Club's press release. I'm sure there'll be stories about this in the papers tomorrow. Wonder if anybody will call McCain on his fake greenery.

UPDATE: McCain couldn't make it back to D.C. today to help the wind and solar industries. But he can find time in his schedule to return to D.C. tomorrow to speak at the far-right CPAC conference. Mavericktastic!

UPDATE: Friends of the Earth makes the same point.

For story: Where's the straight talk express when you need it?
6 Comments | Post a Comment

old aged memory

I thought he was the one Rep. that was going to make positive green changes! Erm,,, Maybe it is an honet mistake, but its a very grave mistake! Maybe his old aged memory is failing him!

by javaearth at 8:09 AM on 07 Feb 2008

OK, but

I see three plausible scenarios here:

McCain would have voted in favor if he were there, but couldn't fit it into his campaign schedule.
McCain supported the bill, but didn't want to make a public statement that might cost him votes against the Romney/Huckabee lunatic fringe and found it convenient to be elsewhere.
McCain wouldn't have voted in favor if he were there and chose not to be there to avoid losing his green cred.
McCain wouldn't have voted in favor if he were there, but couldn't be there anyway because of his campaign schedule.

I don't claim to know which is true, but it bears at least keeping in mind that the first two are possible. If it's (1), shame on Harry Reid for not scheduling the vote to accomodate his schedule (such is the challenge of holding votes during the election season). If it's (2), shame on the lunatic-fringe. And if it's (3) or (4), McCain bashing is in order. But we ought to at least bear in mind that there are other possibilities before passing judgment.

by Sean Casten at 1:06 PM on 07 Feb 2008

Green Is Growing

The Green industries don't need stimulus.

Their growing by leaps and bounds.

The majority of this "stimulus" bill is a lot of pork barrel funding and rewards for people making bad and dangerous and risky investments.

Or, as we true Conservatives like to say: Welfare for Mortgage Bankers.

Texeme.Construct(function(x)=Participation(x))

by jabailo at 2:46 PM on 07 Feb 2008

We need stimulus...

The Green industries don't need stimulus.
Their growing by leaps and bounds.

As much as I really, really, really wish that were true, it isn't. Do ya really think that wind power would've grown close to 50% in the last year alone without stimulus?

Just take at look at the growth in the industry in the years when stimulus was removed. It wasn't very much at all.

by Tasermons Partner at 5:00 PM on 07 Feb 2008

Update

McCain was actually in Washington.
But he just couldn't be bothered.

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/07/mccain-stimulus-2/

by GreyFlcn at 10:21 PM on 07 Feb 2008

Well, on the plus side...

...the bill also included stimulus for coal. We may not get the green power, but at least we won't get the blackened power either.

by Tasermons Partner at 3:20 PM on 08 Feb 2008

ADVERTISING POLICY

You are not logged in. Thus, you cannot post a comment. If you have an account, log in. If you don't have an account, well, by all means go make one! Meet you back here in five.