Congress gets serious about climate change, & we're left to ponder the future

Cue crowd noise. Cue the smell of the track. Cue sweat-dampened betting slips, clutched in our hands as we pray mightily that we might actually beat the fat cats and win for a change. Cue jockeys. Cue horses... The Climate Change Derby is off and running in Washington, DC!

The question, of course, is whether or not the legislative shenanigans that began in Congress this week will actually make any progress in limiting greenhouse gas emissions. Settle in. This is going to be a long race. Here are some first takes on what this all means.

Time reports on who did what to whom on Tuesday.

The House produced a long-awaited bill to regulate 85% of U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions, anteing up for what promises to be long, high-stakes negotiations with the Senate and business groups alarmed at the $1 trillion price tag that some estimate such an effort could entail. The effects of the already intense lobbying were felt across the Capitol, where the Senate the same afternoon passed by an overwhelming margin an amendment resolving that any energy legislation should not increase electricity or gas prices. As it stands now, energy-price hikes are unavoidable under most of the climate-change plans swirling around Congress, including the draft introduced Tuesday by House Committee on Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman and Representative Ed Markey, chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment.

Time says the bill isn't expected to pass as it stands, but it might well give the Obama Administration cover for its more modest proposal.

Joe Romm gives the Waxman-Markey Bill a B+, which is high praise from the notoriously stern environmentalist.

Kevin Drum says he's a pessimist.

My reservations aside, this bill is the best thing we've seen on the energy front in a long, long time. I just wish it were even better, that's all. A guy can dream, can't he?

How the richest taxpayers rip everyone else off

I can's say it, or show it, better than Kevin Drum and Ezra Klein. Also, do follow Kevin's link to an 2006 interview with Pulitzer Prize winner David Cay Johnston. David, an old boss of mine, makes the situation make sense. Of course, that's sense in the infuriating, I-want-to-strangle-someone way.

A Dose of Reality: Mormons get a lesson about politics

I've been working up a response to the absurd statement from leaders of the Mormon Church, complaining about the marriage equality protests that are sweeping the nation. In a truly Orwellian move, Mormon leaders claimed they have been victimized by the fallout from Proposition 8. What a joke!

While I was struggling with my post, Kevin Drum, bless him, came up with a post saying exactly what I wanted to say. The emphasis is mine.

I'm afraid the church elders have it exactly backward here. Churches have every right to involve themselves in political issues, but if they do then they're going to be treated as political actors. Protests, boycotts, op-eds, blog posts, and marches are exactly the democratic ideals of our nation, and being on the receiving end of them is what happens to anyone who enters the political fray. It's a little late for them to pretend they didn't know this.

People should not be persecuted for their religious beliefs, and I condemn any gay-rights supporter who does that. But I refuse to let people take my rights away and then claim that I can't fight back. Give me a break!

In case you're wondering why anyone would be miffed at the LDS, take a look at this weekend's New York Times: Mormons Tipped Scale in Ban on Gay Marriage.

New Hampshire: The Jerk Factor, Hillary, Big Media & more

By Diane Silver

All of the above and more are among the thoughts clogging the cyberways on this day after New Hampshire tossed the presidential race up in the air. And yes, I'm focusing on the Democratic race.

Here are some of the most interesting bits of the post-primary analysis.

What went wrong with the polls?

Big media pundits miss the point.

The coverage had been so out of control there was speculation about when Hillary might have to drop out. Polls giving Barack Obama an 8- or 10-point lead were accepted as fact.

Another Comeback Kid

Presidential campaigns rarely end this quickly, and it was as if the voters of New Hampshire on Tuesday were divided enough in their choice of candidates to assure that voters elsewhere will have the opportunity to settle the issue.

"I think it's awfully interesting that they made her the underdog and she came back," said Democratic strategist Bill Carrick. "Obviously, a lot of these voters don't want to close down the process. It's like, 'Wait a minute.' "

Rimjob at Daily Kos looks at the whole enchilada. Kos, himself, cites the Jerk Factor in helping to give Hillary the win.

Josh Marshall looks for meaning.

My personal favorite comes from Kevin Drum.

There's now a pretty good chance that, for the first time in my life, my vote in a Democratic primary will actually be meaningful. And it only took 30 years!

Hey, I'm in the same situation. The Feb. 5 Democratic caucuses in Kansas might actually mean something. What a hoot!

And a little pre-NH vote analysis of what is now known as "The Moment."

Guys may cry, after all, but tears, culturally, are a Female Thing. And the word ‘emotional’ is rarely used as flattery. (See John Edwards, who responded to a reporter’s question about The Moment with this: “I think what we need in a commander-in-chief is strength and resolve.”)...

The press’s simultaneous amplification and shorthanding of Clinton’s display of emotion support (Gloria) Steinem’s point (in the New York Times): Clinton’s gender, in a still-sometimes-sexist society like ours, may be more problematic than we allow ourselves to acknowledge or believe.