Boston Globe article about the climate/energy bill

[Mass]

I was starting to wonder if they would even bother.

Obviously, the bill in itself is disappointing, but, as those who care about the issue of global climate change have already said, you need to pass a bill, and, given the lack of support among many Democratic senators for anything, there is no way it will be a strong bill.

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2010/05/kerry_lieberman.html

Kerry, Lieberman unveil climate bill
By Matt Viser, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON – Senator John F. Kerry unveiled his signature climate change legislation this afternoon, delivering an impassioned speech about the need for passage even while its prospects remain highly uncertain.

"The path to progress has been long,” Kerry said at a packed press conference where he was joined by the bill’s co-author, Senator Joseph Lieberman. “But despite Washington conventional wisdom, we are closer than we've ever been to a breakthrough."

“This isn’t a choice,” he added. “It’s a necessity, and we’re going to get it done this year.”

Kerry was surrounded by energy executives, environmental groups, and nuclear power interests. Notably missing were any oil company executives.

“One CEO of an oil company is very busy,” Kerry said, referencing the BP executive who was in a nearby congressional hearing room testifying about the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The bill aims to reduce reliance on foreign oil while putting a price on carbon emissions and providing billions of dollars in incentives to industry to drastically cut greenhouse gases.

In an acknowledgment of the mounting anger over the spill – and in a bid to draw more support from coastal Democrats – Kerry and Lieberman altered the bill to give states more say over offshore drilling. States would be allowed to veto plans for any drilling within 75 miles of their shores. In addition, they could veto plans for drilling off neighboring states if they can show significant impacts.

Still, Kerry and Lieberman are taking a political gamble in releasing the bill without the Republican support that Kerry once called crucial. Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, had spent months helping to craft the proposal, only to back away several weeks ago over opposition to an unrelated immigration overhaul.

...

Representative Edward J. Markey, the co-author of a climate bill the House approved last year, praised the legislation released today.

“The time to act is now,” Markey said. “We cannot wait. China is not waiting. Europe is not waiting. And the health of our economy and our environment hangs in the balance. Working with the Senate and the Obama administration, this will be the year that we finally create a lasting clean energy future for our country.”

and happy Markey endorsed the bill. Like Kerry, it was probably not his dream bill, but he knows something must be done.

[karynnj]

1. I actually think the bill is better than I have expected it would be

It is clearly not a dream bill - as Kerry himself wrote, but it is a very serious, well thought out bill.

I can't imagine the Globe not covering it - though I can imagine if by a miracle - or at least a huge amount of work, it passes, their article might be titled "Brown votes (for or against) successful climate change bill".

[ProSense]

2. Agree.

I like Markey's quote. This is from Al Gore:

John Kerry and Joe Lieberman will unveil their climate and green jobs bill on May 12:

“New legislation to limit U.S. greenhouse gases and boost “clean energy” production will be released May 12, Senators John Kerry and Joseph Lieberman, the authors of the measure, said today.”

“Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, said in an e-mailed statement they believe they can “secure the necessary votes to pass this legislation this year.””

We are on the road to passing the most important environmental legislation in a generation. That's why during the next few weeks I’ll be asking for your help to show the Senate that we demand they pass this vital legislation. This is our best opportunity to put America on the path to solving the climate crisis, and I know you’ll get the job done.

[Mass]

3. The bill is getting endorsements from some Democrats like Harkin or Gregoire

http://www.iowapolitics.com/index.iml?Article=196380

http://www.governor.wa.gov/news/news-view.asp?pressRelease=1494&newsType=1

And I think that Treehugger gets it when it comes to this bill

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/05/kerry-greenpeace-both-right-on-senate-climate-bill.php

[Mass]

4. The Globe people are idiots, but the photo at the URL is great.

I know, it's nothing new, neither is the fact that Brown is an idiot, but it continues to get to me. So, what Brown's thinks about such a ridiculous question (that Kagan is against the military) is important enough to make the lede, but they dont ask Brown where he stands on this very issue (DADT?).



http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2010/05/14/kagan_makes_rounds_on_capitol_hill/

Kagan makes rounds on Capitol Hill
Explains to Brown her position on military recruiters

By Mark Arsenault and Matt Viser

WASHINGTON — Senator Scott Brown, the Massachusetts Republican, said he was satisfied with the explanation of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan for why she restricted the access military recruiters had to students when she was dean of Harvard Law School, a policy that has become the basis of some of the sharpest attacks on Kagan’s fitness for the court.
“That was the first question I actually asked her,’’ Brown said after meeting privately with Kagan for 20 minutes. “Being in the military, I had concerns about that position at Harvard. She answered it, I felt, very honestly. And it was very clear to me, after we spoke about it at length, that she is supportive of the men and women who are fighting to protect us, and very supportive of the military as a whole.’’

Brown did not, however, say he was ready yet to support her nomination. Such a vote would be a considerable boost to her confirmation prospects.

...
President Obama on Monday nominated Kagan, 50, the US solicitor general, to replace Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, who is retiring at age 90 after 35 years on the court. If confirmed by a majority of the US Senate, Kagan would bring the number of women serving on the court to three, the most ever.
...

Kagan also met yesterday with Massachusetts Senator John F. Kerry, a Democrat, who predicted that she would draw bipartisan support as she did when confirmed as solicitor general. The Senate confirmed Kagan to her current job by a vote of 61-31, with seven Republicans supporting her.

Kerry also defended Kagan on her handling of recruiters.

“As a veteran and a lawmaker who opposed the ban that many Ivy League schools instituted on military recruiting and ROTC programs, when I heard the facts from Elena Kagan I was absolutely reassured of her commitment to those in military service,’’ Kerry said in a statement. “This was evident by the support she personally gave to many military veterans studying at Harvard, veterans who supported her confirmation as solicitor general and now support her confirmation for the Supreme Court.’’

They also have this, on the Medicare nominee
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2010/05/kerry_defends_b.html?camp=localsearch:on:twit:pol

Kerry defends Berwick against critics
WASHINGTON -- Senator John F. Kerry rose to the defense of Harvard professor Donald Berwick Thursday, deriding Republicans who have used what Kerry called ``phony assertions'' to damage Berwick's nomination to run the country's Medicare and Medicaid programs.

``It’s no secret that the national Republican Party has tried to crank up the attack machine and make his nomination a distorted referendum on reform,'' Kerry said in a statement after meeting with Berwick Thursday afternoon. ``I hope everyone will instead take a deep breath and look at the facts about this public servant who is beyond debate a dedicated pediatrician and nationally recognized expert on health care quality.''

Berwick, a professor at both Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health, is President Obama's pick to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which administer government health care programs for the elderly as well as the poor and disabled. The agency will play a pivotal role in the new health care law, which includes cuts in Medicare funding and an historic expansion of Medicaid to extend coverage to a broader group of Americans.

Berwick gave a private speech Wednesday in Washington to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a group with the stated mission of improving health care. There was no transcript of the speech, spokeswoman Jessie duPont said, adding that she did not know its content.

...
``We need better than phony assertions that he’d ever set up death panels in Medicare, or interfere in personal health care decisions made between patients and their doctors,'' Kerry said. ``Frankly, we need a more honest debate than we had over health reform itself, which didn’t serve anyone well. It’s time to permanently retire these ridiculous accusations from politics and thoughtfully consider our nominees so that first rate experts won’t shy away from public service.''

Kerry is a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, which will consider Berwick's nomination. The panel, whose members are now entrenched in a financial services regulation bill, has yet to set a date for the hearings.
...

[MBS]

5. you took the words right out of my mouth!

That photo (and I agree it's a good one!) was the only decent part of that article on Kagan interviews. I couldn't believe all the ink devoted to the incoherent "thoughts" (I use the term broadly) of the Other One.
But the photos did tell the real story. As usual, Brown's was all photo-op (all these photos of him have the look of a kid posing with a Famous Person for a cell-phone snapshot ); but JK's was the photo of a serious professional, talking business with a colleague.

[Mass]

6. The only logical explanation is that Matt Viser has a crush on Brown.

Hard otherwise to understand why he would write so many empty articles on the same topic.

[karynnj]

10. I watched the video on the link with the other puff piece you posted

You might be on to something there. It is expertly edited to take the few sane bits and pieces with appealing shots of the smiling Senator inserted. Reading the transcript gave a WAY different view. It actually does show how the media clips and editing can completely change the perspective.

[karynnj]

7. I'm still trying to get over the actual moronic comments in the actual Boston Globe interview with

Brown. Matt Viser used almost none of the interview's quotes - likely because there are very few coherent thoughts and much that really sounds like he is really not ready to be a Senator. I seriously think that JK was more mature as a 27 year old, speaking coherently, passionately, and eloquently on real issue than Brown is now.

I really think that the transcript should be bookmarked by Democrats with friends or relatives on the fence about Brown. I seriously meant it when I said that his comments on interacting with other Senators sound like comments that a not especially bright kid could have written home from summer sleep away camp.

article - http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=273&topic_id=165120&mesg_id=165163
transcript - http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2010/05/09/transcript_from_the_interview_with_scott_brown

At least it is good that he sounds like he is leaning towards voting for her. It is interesting that she was able to end his fears on this - a real credit to her. I just hope he won't be as easily swayed back by the right. It is also jarring when he refers to himself as "in the military". Is this common place for people in his position?

[Mass]

8. I don't think he had any real fear. This seems grandstanding to me.

Presenting himself as the reasonable guy who is ready to listen.

If he had had worries about her support for the military, you think he would have stated it in his initial statement.

http://scottbrown.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ContentRecord_id=79723e0f-6d89-42ea-bf4e-7bde4891738e

[karynnj]

9. Good point - it completely let's Brown appear on either side of the issue

It is amazing how differently they treat him than they do Kerry. (but whoever selected that photo did a great job.)