Harry Reid pulls scaled down energy bill off the table

  With the news last week that Harry Reid pulled the cap and trade bill off of the table, the Democrats began to focus on a scaled down energy bill that was to focus on the BP oil spill and renewable energy sans cap and trade. This was an attempt by Harry Reid and the Democrats to pass some form of renewable energy bill before the November elections and it was thought that the bill would have much more support than the doomed cap and trade legislation.

  That was not to be and today Harry Reid announced that he did not have the votes to pass even this scaled down bill, so he has pulled this bill off of the table as well. The finger pointing has already started and it comes as no surprise that the fingers are being pointed directly at the Republicans. But the fault does not lie solely at the feet of the Republicans because Harry Reid was only going to allow a straight up or down vote on the bill; he has not going to allow any amendments to be added to the bill for fear that Republicans would have been able to score some political points.

  Harry Reid put politics above the energy bill and because of this there was no way that Republicans–after having been denied a chance to amend the bill–would ever vote for it.

  Robert Dillon, the Republican spokesman on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee went so far as to claim that there were Democrats who were prepared to vote against this bill because they favored a Republican version of the bill, so Harry Reid is being more than just a little disingenuous here.

The reason Sen. Reid pulled bill is because his own members were set to vote against it and for the Republican bill,” Dillon added, referring to Landrieu and Begich. “We believe our bill is better and less costly. Instead of playing the blame game, Democratic leaders should allow an open and transparent process where both sides can contribute ideas

  But Harry Reid wasn’t interested in listening to Republican ideas for fear that Republicans might have won the debate, instead trying to win a political victory over the Republicans. If he was serious about the need for this energy bill he would have allowed debate and amendments to the bill.

  So today he was forced to table the bill; instead of an energy bill with bipartisan support he killed the bill so that Republicans could have no input. The Congress has come to an impasse on any kind of cap and trade or renewable energy bill but this is not the end of the issue for Barack Obama is moving forward with “Plan B” and that plan includes declaring cap and trade legislation through dictate using the EPA to enforce laws that he was not able to get through the Congress using the guidelines established in the constitution.

  The Obama regime intends on passing this legislation come hell of high water and they are unwilling to be confined by the constitution. The battle for our republic is only just beginning, we must win the battle in November if there is any chance of saving the America that we have grown up in for our children.