Articles by Brian Beutler

And the vote is …

"I now move that S.2192, the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2007, be reported favorably."

And here's the roll call:

11 Yeahs:

• Baucus
• Boxer
• Cardin
• Carper
• Clinton by proxy
• Klobuchar
• Lautenberg by proxy
• Lieberman
• Sanders by proxy
• Warner
• Whitehouse

8 Nays:

• Alexander
• Barrasso
• Bond by proxy
• Craig
• Inhofe
• Isakson
• Vitter
• Voinovich

A full roundup will be forthcoming.

A strengthened role for the EPA … or not

Senator Lieberman also opposes Sanders' amendment -- which just failed -- to allow the EPA to strengthen the cap if the law-as-passed proves insufficiently effective.

Improving the cap… or not

This is a big one. Sanders No. 4 would make the goal of the bill to reduce emissions by 80 (as opposed to about 70) percent by 2050. As the bill is written, the reductions in Lieberman-Warner (under the cap, and otherwise) don't meet the mark. Sanders says, "while it is fine that we reach a political agreement here, the scientific community is telling us that the agreement we are reaching here does not do the job that has to be done."

Lieberman, by contrast, says, "I don't think we can get the bill out of the committee with 80 percent." Perhaps he might have taken a moment to consider whether this amendment -- an aspirational amendment -- could have passed if he, the bill's author, had supported it. Instead, he opposed it, and the amendment failed.

Meanwhile, Lieberman jokingly referred to his success in a college science class he referred to as "geology and astrology [sic] ... rocks and stars". This is the guy writing our climate legislation.

Sanders gets smacked down

Sanders' amendment -- Sanders #3 -- would have required CCS-equipped plants to sequester at least 85 percent of their pollution in order to be eligible for additional free allowances. That's what the bill used to mandate, before it was changed earlier this month. Sanders tried to change it back and was voted down with 13 "nays," including one from his usual ally Barbara Boxer.

Sanders' support of this bill may be irrelevant to its passage through committee. But if snubs like this aren't enough to convince him to continue to oppose Lieberman-Warner, it will be a sign that deep greens have lost all support in the Senate.