Since Barack Obama announced his candidacy for the office of President, he has pushed for comprehensive energy and climate legislation, yet many of those campaign promises remain unfulfilled. After much public debate, it became clear that the proposals the Administration stands behind would come at a huge cost to taxpayers. Not to mention the supposed positive impact of plans like Cap and Trade remain questionable. Slowly but surely, the unpopular, yet ambitious energy and climate agenda is fading out before the November election.
As Politico notes here, the White House isn’t dropping the same buzz words anymore, such as “carbon,” “global warming,” or “greenhouse gases.” They even removed Obama’s energy and climate campaign promises from the White House website in June. Harry Reid announced in late July that Senate democrats were finally scrapping the cap and trade bill. The legislation may still make a comeback, but no one has mentioned any specific plan yet. Obama’s Energy Czar Carol Browner mentioned on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that she remains hopeful for a comprehensive climate bill to break through this year. My hope is that we don’t have as much to worry about from the lameduck session, after all.