Democrats | Grist

Southern boy don't need them around anyhow

Are the South and the Midwest splitting on energy? 2
Posted 4 months, 3 weeks ago
What you see in the Waxman-Markey House vote is the beginning of a dynamic I expect to accelerate in coming years: the divergence of the South (specifically coal-mining Appalachia) and the Midwest on energy politics.
Dems the breaks

Analysis of Waxman-Markey vote from around the web 3
Posted 4 months, 3 weeks ago
What does Friday's close Waxman-Markey vote in the House tell us? Here are some thoughts from around the interwebs.
If you liked it then you shoulda counted the swing votes

House swing votes stay mum on climate bill 1
Posted 5 months ago
Of the 31 lawmakers who form the statistical center of the House on the issue of climate change, only eight have given clear indication that they will vote for the Waxman-Markey energy bill.
The little engine that probably couldn't

Will health care eclipse climate in Congress this year? 9
Posted 5 months, 2 weeks ago
Halfway through the second debate of last fall's presidential campaign, moderator Tom Brokaw asked the candidates what their top priority would be if elected. McCain hemmed and hawed, but Obama answered in plain language: energy is "priority No. 1" and health care "priority No. 2." Fast forward. In an NYT Magazine piece this weekend on the legislative strategy driving Obama's presidency, Sen. Max Baucus recalls a flight on Air Force One in which Obama "just turned to me and said, 'This is my No. 1 issue.'" That issue? Health care.

What a difference a little time in office makes.
Charlie Wilson's Score

Commenter: New leaders in the making in coal country 0
Posted 5 months, 4 weeks ago
From Grist commenter johnpdeever: "Ohio Reps. Zach Space and Charlie Wilson went out on a limb, publicly expressing willingness to attempt to go green to a degree at least and to do what they can to make our coal industry better. I'm in Space's generally very Republican district, and he could be a model of how young new Democratic reps even here in coal country can help all you coastal folks."
Meet the Carbon Nine

In the House, a nine-way tie for climate swing vote 29
Posted 5 months, 4 weeks ago
Let's call them the Carbon Nine -- nine Democrats from largely rural districts who could wind up deciding the fate of far-reaching climate legislation.
House of Swingers

22 more House Democrats who hold the keys to Waxman-Markey 0
Posted 5 months, 4 weeks ago
In addition to the Carbon Nine, the Democrats who form the statistical center of the House on climate change, research by economists Matthew Kahn and Michael Cragg puts these 22 Democrats within a few points of the center.
Much ado

What does Specter’s party switch mean for climate and energy? 6
Posted 6 months, 3 weeks ago
On optics, on symbolism, on portent, Sen. Arlen Specter's conversion to the Democratic Party is a big deal. On the prospects for energy and climate legislation in this Congress, it means very little.
Myth: Democrats support good climate policy and Republicans oppose it 13
Posted 7 months, 3 weeks ago
Energy and climate scramble the usual left-right political divisions. Many of the big fights are not among parties but among regions and levels of government.