Kerry For/Edwards Against The Jeffords Amendment (20% Renewable in 2020)

[DrFunkenstein]

According to Public Citizen:

"A groundbreaking renewable energy portfolio standard - in which Congress would set concrete goals to increase America's reliance on wind and solar energy - was rejected on March 14, 2002. Amendment 3017, sponsored by Sen. Jeffords, would have mandated that 20% of America's electricity be generated from renewable energy like wind and solar by the year 2020."

Edwards vote: Nay

Kerry vote: Yea

http://action.citizen.org/pc/issues/votes/?votenum=50&chamber=S&congress=1072

Edwards' page on the environment is pretty anemic, as is his record:

http://www.johnedwards2004.com/environment.asp

Kerry's page is what I'd consider amazing. This is what a progressive platform looks like:

http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/energy/

According to the National Journal - Composite Liberal Score's calculations, in 2002, Senator Kerry voted more liberal on economic, defense and foreign policy issues than 87 percent of the Senators.

According to the National Journal - Composite Liberal Score's calculations, in 2002, Senator Edwards voted more liberal on economic, defense and foreign policy issues than 63 percent of the Senators.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

1. I said that Kerry is much more progressive!!!

See!!!!!!!!!

A Vote For John F. Kerry, Is A Vote For Progress!!!!!!!!!!


:dem:

[ramapo]

3. Maybe

I'm not sure whee Kerry is coming from but he is ABB and that is plenty ok with me.

[DjTj]

2. It was a procedural vote.

Already discussed in this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=356581#356699

mohc explained it well in post #34:

This starts right after Jeffords offers his amendment...

Mr. REID. I object.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada objects.

Mr. REID. I object and call for the regular----

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada has objected. Under the unanimous consent agreement, the only amendments in order are those that have been filed.

Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I do not believe that the order includes a motion to recommit with an amendment. I ask for clarification in that respect.

Mr. REID. I submit to the Chair that it includes all amendments.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont is advised that the instructions that all amendments must be filed applies even to amendments that would be included within a motion with instructions to recommit.

Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I appeal the ruling of the Chair.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The appeal is debatable. Is there debate on the appeal?

... end record.

To explain for the lay person:

The Senate agreed to a rule that all amendments had to be filed in order to be considered. Jeffords amendment was not filed, and therefore he could not submit it. He then attempted to make a motion to recommit with his amendment attached. Jeffords believed that amendments in a recommital motion were not covered by the rule. Reid (D) believed that the rule did indeed cover that motion, and the chair concurred. Jeffords appealed the ruling and the appeal was tabled.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

5. Edwards voted against increasing funding for renewable energy - WHY?

Because he wanted to stand with the Republicans? Because he thought this obscure point of parliamentary order was more important than renewable energy?

[Taeger]

17. Parliamentary Order

Progressives play by the rules. There is a legitimate debate about following procedure. We bitch about Republicans holding the floor open for 8 hours in order to brow-beat their colleagues, why would we consent to breaking the rules to get what WE want????

As a lawyer, Edwards probably knows better than anyone else about following proper procedure. It is an important doctrine in a country where LAW rules, not a sovereign.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

18. Standing with the Repulicans on a point of order is more important

than renewable energy?

Are you really saying that that's what Edwards' priorities are?



Let's see who else thought this point of order was more important than funding renewable and solar energy.

YEAs ---60
Abraham (R-MI)
Allard (R-CO)
Ashcroft (R-MO)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bond (R-MO)
Breaux (D-LA)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burns (R-MT)
Byrd (D-WV)
Campbell (R-CO)
Cochran (R-MS)
Coverdell (R-GA)
Craig (R-ID)
Crapo (R-ID)
Daschle (D-SD)
DeWine (R-OH)
Domenici (R-NM)
Edwards (D-NC)
Enzi (R-WY)
Frist (R-TN)
Gorton (R-WA)
Graham (D-FL)
Gramm (R-TX)
Hatch (R-UT)
Helms (R-NC)
Hollings (D-SC)
Hutchinson (R-AR)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Inouye (D-HI)
Kerrey (D-NE)
Kohl (D-WI)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lott (R-MS)
Mack (R-FL)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Moynihan (D-NY)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Nickles (R-OK)
Reid (D-NV)
Robb (D-VA)
Roberts (R-KS)
Santorum (R-PA)
Sarbanes (D-MD)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-NH)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
Thomas (R-WY)
Thompson (R-TN)
Thurmond (R-SC)
Torricelli (D-NJ)
Voinovich (R-OH)


NAYs ---39
Akaka (D-HI)
Bayh (D-IN)
Biden (D-DE)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bryan (D-NV)
Chafee, J. (R-RI)
Cleland (D-GA)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Dodd (D-CT)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Fitzgerald (R-IL)
Grams (R-MN)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagel (R-NE)
Jeffords (R-VT)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (D-CT)
Lugar (R-IN)
Murray (D-WA)
Reed (D-RI)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Roth (R-DE)
Schumer (D-NY)
Smith (R-OR)
Snowe (R-ME)
Warner (R-VA)
Wellstone (D-MN)
Wyden (D-OR)
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=106&session=1&vote=00171

[DrFunkenstein]

20. Wellstone And Feingold Apparently Don't Appreciate Proper Procedure

Not like real progressives do.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

21. Apparently Edwards, Ashcroft, Gramm,McConnell & Lott were the Progressives

on this issue. :eyes:

[mohc]

22. Actually

This is NOT the same vote we were discussing earlier, which was indeed a procedural vote. This is an entirely different amendment. The CR on this bill is quite large so I am sifting through it to see what the context was.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

27. At least Edwards is consistent in opposing renewable energy.

[AP]

4. I hope that when Kerry comes back from his two-day effort to retool his

campaign, he comes up with better distinctions between himself and Edwards than this procedural vote.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

6. Edwards placed procedure ahead of renewable energy? WHY?

[DrFunkenstein]

7. Like Yucca Mountain?

According to Public Citizen:

"This vote was on whether to override the state of Nevada’s veto and approve the Yucca Mountain nuclear dump, despite broad-based opposition from environmental and public interest organizations. The Department of Energy’s recommendation of the Yucca Mountain site has been plagued by compromised research and numerous safety issues. Far from solving the nuclear waste problem, sending waste to Yucca Mountain would require tens of thousands of radioactive shipments through communities in 44 states."

Edwards vote: Yea

Kerry vote: Nay

http://action.citizen.org/pc/issues/votes/?votenum=167&chamber=S&congress=1072

[Feanorcurufinwe]

8. Maybe the endorsement of the League of Conservation Voters

or the AFL-CIO.


Hmmm, Kerry is uniting the traditional Democratic constituencies that have the hardest time getting along....

[AP]

9. Didn't Gore get those endorsements?

You know why a politician like Gore needs to cultivate an image as an environmental candidate?

It's because he was to make up for the pro-Wall St part of his persona.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

10. Nope. the LCV has never endorsed in the primaries before.

[AP]

11. ... because they didn't want to send the Dem into the GE with the stigma

of being a tree hugger?

I can't believe environmentalist Al Gore didn't get the LCV endorsement!

[Feanorcurufinwe]

12. Al Gore wrote a good book on the environment.

That's about it. He was never the kind of leader on the issue that Kerry is.

[AP]

15. Gore and Kerry use the environment as cloak for their pro-business

policies.

[George_Bonanza]

26. So being an environmentalist is bad now?

The way Kerry is superior in environmentalism compared to Edwards is greater than whatever slim advantage Edwards may have over Kerry on trade. And if you can be pro-business yet still be a strong environmentalist, that basically takes care of a huge problem with free trade.

[AP]

28. Being for people who work for a living is the most important thing right

now.

If you're getting the kudos of a lot of single issue groups, but you don't seem so interested in stopping the one-way flow of wealth in this country, I'm going to suspicious.

This is why Gore was such a bad candidate, by the way.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

30. So Edwards is promoting the false choice between jobs and environment?

WARREN OLNEY: Senator Kerry.

SENATOR KERRY:I want to change the entire debate and discussion about the environment in this country.

It is about jobs. It’s about health. It's about our legacy as a generation, and it is our national security. And we need to make it clear to the country that the false choice that's been given by this administration is either jobs or the environment, is wrong.

The environment is jobs. And we are going to prove to Americans we can put them to work, and we’re going to do it in a way, Warren, that’s just. 80 percent of all the Hispanics in America live in counties that have bad air. 25 percent of the kids in New York have asthma today.

We need an environmental justice enforcement at the civil rights department of the Justice Department and I intend to guarantee that we restore that.
http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2004/interestg/lcv062603ta.html


STUDENT: Global warming is pretty much, like, the most important issue for me. We’ve denied it’s a problem for so long that it’s now this huge problem. You said this is one of the reasons you want to be President. What is your record as far as environmental stuff?

JK: I’m happy to share that with you. I have the strongest environmental record of anyone who is running for President. I began my involvement with the environment, it was pretty much against my will, when my mom got me up at four in the morning and dragged me out for a so-called nature walk. She told me to stop and listen, and I did, and I heard things I hadn’t heard and saw things that I hadn’t seen. She began to explain all of that to me, and I’ve never forgotten it, because that connection is what started it.

When I came back from Vietnam, I became involved in Earth Day. This was 1970, and then I was chairman of Earth Day in New England in 1990(sic). We actually painted Storrow Drive biodegradable green, and we had hundreds of booths up and down the Charles River showing people what the technologies of the future could do.

I’ve been chairman of the Oceans Committee in the Senate. I’ve written our fisheries laws, I’ve written our plastics pollution laws, our marine mammal protection laws, our flood insurance laws, our coastal zone management laws. I was in Rio for the Earth Summit in 1990. I was at Buenos Aires, Kyoto, The Hague for the global warming conferences. I’ve helped negotiate with the less developed countries on those issues. I led the fight to stop Newt Gingrich from literally killing the Clean Air Act. I led the fight as a Lieutenant Governor to make acid rain a national issue, and it’s now in the Clean Air Act. I led the fight to stop the drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. I come to this race with a long and passionate record of caring about the environment.

Sometimes in America, the environment becomes a really bad discussion. People like George Bush and his friends will say, “You have a choice. You can have a job, or you can have a clean environment.” Have you ever heard that argument? Jobs or environment, right? It’s a false choice. Cleaning up the environment can be jobs. In Massachusetts, the fastest-growing part of our economy is environmental companies that do clean-up of toxic waste and chemicals, and to consult with companies so they don’t spit out dirty water and the like.

I’m convinced that a good President can help bring the country together in a way that doesn’t lose us jobs, and in a way that helps create a better future, and that’s why I’m running. That’s why I’m here.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/122203A.shtml

[charlie]

13. Gore did get the endorsement

Kerry, to his credit, holds the honor of the group's earliest endorsement in a presidential campaign.

[oasis]

14. kick

[GumboYaYa]

16. Kerry's stand on renewable energy is his best issue IMO.

I support Dean and have criticized Kerry on many issues, but he is spot on right about renewable energy. His leadership on this issue alone is reason enough to vote for him if he is the nominee, not to mention countless other issues where he is a far better alternative to Bush and the gang.

[InvisibleTouch]

25. Encouraging....

Environmental protection, endangered species, and renewable energy are probably my biggest issues. As I hear more about Kerry's record in that department, I'm minding his front-runner status less and less. Give us Deaniacs some time, and maybe we'll re-kindle our passion during the months leading up to November. I can say this much, I'll be actively looking for reasons to support the nominee, rather than looking for reasons to feel disenfranchised.

[DrFunkenstein]

19. Kerry Sees The Promised Land, But Knows How To Get There

Today we have an energy policy of big oil, by big oil and for big oil. It may work for their profits, but it will never work for America.

Setting a national goal of ending our reliance on Middle East oil within this next decade is critical to the long-term national security of the United States. No foreign government can embargo clean, domestic, renewable sources of energy -- and no terrorist can seize control of them.

http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/speeches/spc_2003_0613.html

This is a kick-ass speech. Highly, highly recommended!

[sandnsea]

23. kick

Kerry always should have been the candidate we were behind. He's been fighting for every progressive cause his entire life. It's astounding that we finally have an opportunity to get a person with real vision in office and we're STILL shitting all over him. Ralph Nader. Good god. The man has done NOTHING, absolutely nothing.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

24. I missed you!

Welcome back.

[Leilani]

29. It seems to me, if you care

about environmental issues, Kerry has consistently been the best throughout the years.

Nobody comes close to his record.