Senator Kerry -"White House Must Get ‘Serious’

[wisteria]

About Climate Talks"

"President Barack Obama needs to get “really serious” about making progress ahead of December climate treaty negotiations in Copenhagen, Democratic Senator John Kerry said.

“Time is beginning to run short on the Copenhagen effort,” Kerry said today in Washington at a conference on global warming and national security. “The administration has got to get really serious.”


"The U.S. and almost 200 other countries face a deadline in Copenhagen to agree on terms for a new accord to control climate change and replace the Kyoto Protocol in 2012. Kerry said meetings among world leaders later this month in New York and Pittsburgh will be crucial in the attempt to lay stronger groundwork ahead of the talks starting Dec 7.


http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601130&sid=aW3yjljxDpdA

[MH1]

1. We might have trouble on the Ag Committee

Harkin replaces Kennedy as chair of Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the chairmanship of the Ag Committee now goes to Blanche Lincoln, who has opposed cap-and-trade and seems to want to drag her feet on climate action.

http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/09/10/10climatewire-new-ag-chairwoman-may-not-change-senate-dyna-32661.html

I just saw that today and groaned. I don't know how important it is for the Ag Committee to be on board for climate change legislation but it seems we'd be better off with a real ally there. And Lincoln chairing Ag seems less than desirable for other reasons too. :(

[wisteria]

2. Oh no, I wasn't aware of that.

Maybe now that she is a chairman, her and Kerry can have a chairman (chairwoman?)to chairman talk. I would think it is important for the Ag committee to fully support this.

[karynnj]

3. It would have been better to stil have Harkin there

but I assume that Kerry would have had to win Lincoln over to the logic and need to take action. He will have to get all or nearly all Democrats. She is up for re-election in 2010, which could work either way. (I wonder what their relationship is - they are on the Finance Committee together.)

[Inuca]

6. But OTOH it's good

to have Harkin replace Teddy (wasn't the alternative Johnson? or of course Dodd). Unintended consequences...

[beachmom]

4. In defense of Lincoln, she has to represent Arkansas.

Anyone see the latest polls from that state? More people there believe Obama was not born in the U.S. than do. They admire Rush Limbaugh more than the POTUS.

I think we are lucky we have a Dem from that state. I hear y'all on how she is not a reliable Dem and how this Ag chairmanship has swung out, but geez .... again, this is the state of Arkansas we are talking about here.

[sandnsea]

5. Two Dem Senators, Dem Governor, Dem Statehouse

4 of 5 Dem Reps.

We've simply got to figure out how to get these people to stop listening to garbage.

Do you know more Arkansans voted for John Kerry than Obama?? Now that is really something.

[karynnj]

7. Interesting observation on 2004 vs 2008

Given that the shift the entire country experienced between those years, I wonder if this could be racism (which diluted Obama's numbers) or maybe Kerry's background as a vet had some impact in spite of the SBVT. Could the primaries against the Clintons have hurt.

Or did RW media become more dominant there even between those years. It is very troubling that they prefer the disgusting Limbaugh to the President.

You are 100% right that somehow we need to convince people that that stuff is garbage. It makes it clear to me why Obama did the right thing in directly attacking Limbaugh.

[ProSense]

12. Really interesting.

I really believe the posturing by some of these Dems from conservative states is part laziness and part an inability to really lead. You can see it in the health care debate, in which conservative Dems are all over the place.

[MH1]

19. I agree, that's really interesting

I also suspect the Kerry/Obama statistic has to do with racism. Maybe not even conscious racism, but a cultural immersion kind of thing. Or maybe I'm completely wrong... apologies to any Arkansans who might be reading this, but it does seem very odd.

[beachmom]

23. A relative of mine lived there a couple of years. She who could adapt

to any country or state found it extremely difficult to adjust to living there. Not just racism, but very provincial.

Also, maybe a coincidence, but she never met so many people anywhere in the world who had cheated on their spouses, than when she was in Arkansas. Bill may have just been behaving normally for Arkansas. (to be clear, both men and women were cheaters)

[beachmom]

22. Dixiecrat types, who don't care about the environment.

Nor do their voters.

And yup -- I know that stat, too.

[MH1]

18. Oh, I understand about her having to represent her state

and what a tough thing it must be to do that. But I still don't want her chairing ANY committee having anything to do with the environment, based on what I've read of her record and positions. Sigh.

[beachmom]

24. Yup. Basically any Dem who represents the South will be bad on the environment.

People just couldn't care less about the environment in the South (obviously a sweeping statement not 100% true, but I am just saying on average). It may be that after going through very difficult economic times for probably over a 100 years following the Civil War, they started coming back by building, building, building and enticing, enticing, enticing corporations to come here. Only the jobs mattered. Stopping for a moment and considering environmental impact was considered to be getting in the way of progress. That mentality continues, unfortunately.

[karynnj]

8. A nice article on the speech and a blog with the text

http://media.www.gwhatchet.com/media/storage/paper332/news/2009/09/14/News/At.Conference.Kerry.Calls.For.Environmental.Action-3768897.shtml

Here's the blog - http://madrad2002.wordpress.com/2009/09/10/john-kerry-on-climate-change-and-natural-security/

(I think they are wrong in that Kerry will be a sponsor, not a co-sponsor of the bill. Am I wrong?)

[TayTay]

9. There is jockeying to define jurisdiction and Baucus wants this bill

according to a report out of http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/politics/Baucus_makes_a_grab_for_climate_bill-58976922.html">NBC Philadelphia.

For liberal Democrats unhappy with the way Max Baucus is handling health care reform, here’s another dose of bad news: He’s got his hands on climate and energy, too.

Behind closed doors, Sen. Baucus has been staking his claim on major aspects of the climate bill, including financing for a cap-and-trade system.

His power play could put Baucus at the helm of the Obama administration’s domestic agenda, giving an unpredictable Montana Democrat control over legislative proposals that could define the Democratic Party for years to come.

“He’s swung from liberal to conservative,” said Montana pollster Craig Wilson, noting Baucus’s support of the 2001 Bush tax cuts and the 2003 Medicare prescription drug bill. “He’s been a bit of an unpredictable vote for the Democrats.”

Sen. Baucus has an energy subcommittee in Finance that formed last year. It has held hearings on the subject of how to combat global warming and how to fund that fight.

[MBS]

10. this does not make me happy : ( n/t

[karynnj]

11. Well, the Finace committee is always described as powerful

I hope that Kerry's relationship with him, helps Kerry channel Baucus's actions in a helpful direction. (I wonder if it helps that Kerry is on the committee and that Kerry's funding suggestion on health care won inclusion in Baucus' bill.)

[wisteria]

15. What? I don't want this man involved in any of this.

How can he be stopped? He is partially responsible for the difficulties regarding a health care bill. Now he may be free to screw up climate change legislation. It is obvious, Baucas major concern is his own self interests.
Senator Kerry must know this though, I have to wonder what his take is on this matter. I know, I am not pleased that Baucus could have a lot of influence in deciding what is important and what is not in regards to climate change.

[beachmom]

25. That is very bad news. nt

[ProSense]

13. This issue needed someone

with Kerry's conviction to keep it at the forefront. The fact that it hasn't fallen by the wayside has a lot to do with his (and Boxer's) persistence. The MSM has definitely been reporting on its progress. I like this quote from a NYT article:

"We're burning and churning with CBO and with the EPA," Kerry said. "We're just running by them. The minute you nix something here, or change something, you change the overall formula and outcomes. And we need to know what the costs are, and what the impacts are."

Kerry also declined to talk timelines. "I'm not going to make a prediction on a date, so we don't fall short of something," he said. "But obviously, we're trying to move it as fast as we can this month."

[blm]

14. Which is why Baucus' aides have been quietly working on the issue to help GOP put brakes on any

progress Boxer and Kerry have been making - he's turning into pure scum.

I posted philly article on Baucus in GD.

[wisteria]

16. His motives are getting more and more difficult to defend. I wonder if he is getting paid by Repubs

to undermine our party?

[blm]

17. Blackmail has been a tactic hardwired in DC since GHWBush ramped it up in earnest for Nixon

and has become a staple fallback for the fascists.

[wisteria]

21. Interesting. n/t

[wisteria]

20. Oh, I so totally agree with this. We need Senator Kerry and Senator Boxer to lead this.

I know of know one,including VP Gore, who has been more passionate and involved in this issue than Senator Kerry. And, of course, Senator Boxer.

Baucus seems like a slap in the face to everyone who realizes just how serious this issue is.

[ProSense]

26. Kerry comments on WH emissions announcement

White House Rolls Out Details of Auto Fuel Economy, Emissions Standard

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) said today's announcement would also help send a message to the international community, while still assuring Americans that Obama is viewing environmental decisions through an economic lens.

"The administration, moving forward today through its executive administrative capacity, is a very important component of sending a message to people that we're going to do this across the economy in ways that make sense," Kerry said. "I welcome it. It's long overdue."

[ProSense]

27. Kerry's statement on today's announcement

here