The Public is Against Cap and Trade
by Dr. Tony Magana
A late night Friday vote before a Senate recess on the controversial Climate Change Energy Tax bill is beginning to see political backlash and political spin as public opinion against the legislation is surfacing.
The Democratic cap and trade legislation which was heavily backed by the President and the progressives passed the House by a vote of 219-212 late Friday. Since the Congressional tally there has already begun some political backlash for what assuredly was an unpopular move.
Although most Americans are concerned about the environment and conservation there have been many skeptics in the scientific world about whether even with an extreme sacrifice that would cripple the economy of the United States any real benefit would be gained. In March, a Gallup poll disclosed that a majority of Americans, 51% vs. 42%, said “economic growth should be given priority over the environment if the environment suffers to some extent”. At the same time, Americans were about evenly split, 47% vs. 46% on whether they should “favor protection of the environment at the risk of limiting energy supplies.”
Things have not been going well for the Obama administration as regards the economy. Albeit the rate of job loss has decreased and the stock market has reached over the 50% mark of recovery from the severe downturn, the economic outlook for the next few years remains somewhat pessimistic. Most proponents of Cap and Trade legislation have framed the discussion of the measures called for as being necessary sacrifices for the future.
Over the weekend following the Congressional vote an online poll has been carried out by MSNBC/Newsvine. Those familiar with the social media website recognize that Newsvine like its parent MSNBC is overwhelmingly imbued with progressive advocates.
However the results of the survey show a severe disapproval of the Congressional action. As of today over 14,000 responders to the survey had voted their sentiments. They were asked the question: Should Congress pass the climate and energy bill before it?
- 1.4% No, the bill has been weakened to the point where it does too little
- 17% Yes, its urgent that we curb warming emissions by moving towards cleaner energy
- 81.6% No, the bill is a huge energy tax and it would cost millions of jobs.
Though a 82% disapproval rating of the recent Congressional bill seems astounding, clearly the trends of disappointment if not outright disgusts are undeniably building. The most recent Gallup poll shows that only 33% of the public thinks Congress is doing a good job. Real Clear Politics reports that a majority of Americans now openly disapprove of not only the job Congress is performing but also state the country is going “the wrong direction”
President Obama was quick to acclaim the Congress for passage of the cap and trade bill which was conveniently done on a late Friday evening allowing the media to passively avoid the story. However, by Sunday morning he was already trying to do damage control by remarking that the anti-free trade measures put in place to force the government to tariff against countries which do not meet American standards for global warning might have been the wrong approach. He admitted to reporters that the bills in the current form approved the by the House could do severe damage to American manufacturers by starting reciprocal tariffs against them by foreign countries targeted by the new climate change regulations.
Mr. Obama’s quote in the New York Times “At a time when the economy worldwide is still deep in recession and we’ve seen a significant drop in global trade … I think we have to be very careful about sending any signals out there” paradoxically makes the very point against the bill.
Once again, the President is trying to position himself as a centrist between the extreme left and the radical right but this time as before it will not work. Since the election his poll numbers have been consistently dropping from 80% to now just over 50% in a way that reminds one of the history of the Jimmy Carter debacle.
Thanks for reading Contempo Magazine blog which discusses issues for McAllen, the Rio Grande Valley, and America from a conservative Hispanic point of view. Tony Magaña grew up in McAllen Texas, attended Texas A&M University, served as an officer in Army Reserve, and holds a doctorate from Harvard University. The co-founder of Contempo Magazine has participated in Valley business for over 20 years. He is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and also writes for the American Daily Review. Follow him on twitter http://twitter.com/contempomagazin
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