The Democrats in the Senate have failed again to surmount Republican obstruction on getting even a scaled-down energy package moved along. Last week, the Democratic leadership was forced to give up the ghost on the Renewable Portfolio Standard. Today Harry Reid had to give up the package of tax cut rescissions that the oil and gas industry have been enjoying in recent years. See this from Reuters. See the vote here.
I'm supposed to be mostly objective, but I'm frankly too depressed now to comment. I have commented at great length on the failures of Congress and the Bush administration before. You can refer to any number of recent and not-so-recent posts on the energy legislation. Where's the silver lining right now? The upgraded CAFE standards? Let's see what the White House does to undermine those. (See A Shameful Presidential Threat, an editorial from today's "NY Times.")
Consolation Prize for the Week: California's emission-control law upheld on 1st test in U.S. court, from the "S.F. Chronicle."