A post by Pat
This pretty much sums up the state of American politics. Patrick Kennedy, heroically as this story would have us believe, came out of drug rehab to pitch in to pass the energy bill while a Republican alcoholic is on leave.
Like father like son, Patrick Kennedy rallies to vote for climate bill
Friday evening it appeared his son, Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), was poised to follow in his father’s footsteps by helping House Democrats approve a major climate change and energy bill that teetered on the brink of failure.
House Democrats struggled for days to try to cobble together enough votes to approve the controversial legislation. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC) conceded Friday that he wasn’t sure if he had the votes to pass the bill. But late Friday afternoon, Kennedy appeared in the House chamber after being sidelined for weeks after checking himself into a rehabilitation center.
A Kennedy absence in the House was thought to cancel out the Republican absence by Rep. John Sullivan (R-OK). Sullivan recently requested a leave from the House for the month of June to seek treatment for an alcohol addiction. Kennedy supports the legislation. Sullivan does not. A Kennedy yea vote could mean the difference on this package.
The fate of the economy is thus decided.
***UPDATE Bill passes 219-212.
Patrick can go back to rehab. He can take the other 218 who voted to pass the bill with him. That includes eight Republicans.
Mary Bono Mack (CA)
Michael Castle (DE)
Mark Kirk (IL)
Leonard Lance (NJ)
Frank LoBiondo (NJ)
John McHugh (NY)
Dave Reichert (WA)
Chris Smith (NJ)
House Passes Milestone Energy, Climate Change Bill
“This is revolutionary. This is a moment in history,” declared Markey, a co-sponsor of the bill.
Republicans saw it differently. This “amounts to the largest tax increase in American history under the guise of climate change,” declared Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind.
The expectation is the Senate will not pass the bill. Depends who is out of rehab I guess.
Horrifying…at least one can take small comfort in this being DOA in the Senate, hopefully.
Pathetic. The 4-year long bad dream continues… .
Many of us are coming to the conclusion that “the Obamanation is pushing every American into crisis. It’s only a matter of how much pain they are willing to endure, before they begin to react. …“Independents…Instead of the uncommitted moderates of the past, they are actually the most committed patriots in America today and they are fed up with both anti-American Democrats and spineless Republicans. …This is the group that both parties had better worry about! This is the group that will save America from Obamanation! …The GOP is the ONLY political structure in America with the power to stop the left. It has horrific leadership at present and in its current state, is of little use to American patriots. …So, patriotic Independents MUST take control of the GOP and fast. The GOP must be altered, reformed if you will, to a useful American Party of the American patriot. …Three vital initiatives are already underway and any one of the three could completely derail the Obamanation of our beloved country. Because we do not know which one will work first, we must get fully behind all three… Patriots across this nation are gathering and taking action. If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.” See: http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/12327