June 11, 2010 06:03 PM UTC

"Conservadems" Bennet, Udall Swat Down CO2 Amendment

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• by: Colorado Pols

As the Boston Globe reports:

The US Senate defeated a bid yesterday to limit federal regulation of greenhouse gases, instead siding with the White House and environmentalists who said regulators must have sufficient tools to fight climate change.

The GOP-backed resolution would have denied the Environmental Protection Agency the authority to implement carbon dioxide emissions rules crafted under the federal Clean Air Act. By rejecting the measure, 53 to 47, senators buoyed a more comprehensive climate and energy bill championed by Senator John F. Kerry.

Opponents of the resolution, referring frequently to the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, said it made no sense to undermine efforts to curtail greenhouse gas emissions and reduce dependence on oil and other fossil fuels.

“Why is it that the United States of America is more dependent today on foreign oil than we were before Sept. 11?” Kerry said during a fiery floor speech. “Because we haven’t done anything – nothing – to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. We have an opportunity to do it now. This is about that.”

The Colorado Independent has local reactions–after all, both Colorado Sens. Mark Udall and Michael Bennet voted against the Murkowski amendment, once again on the wrong side of the “Conservadems” they’re fashionably lumped with. In this case, several prominent “Conservadems” like Ben Nelson and Blanche Lincoln were cosponsors of the GOP’s amendment, so it’s a distinction that couldn’t be clearer (note to Rachel Maddow). And of course, you can’t utter the words “carbon dioxide” in Colorado without Sen. Kevin “Flat Earth” Lundberg getting a quote:

“The Gulf disaster is a painful reminder that we must move our country off of oil,” Environment Colorado field director Gavin Clark said in a release. “We’re thankful that today Sens. Udall and Bennet voted against this Washington bailout to big oil and other polluters. We urge [Udall and Bennet] to now help pass a comprehensive clean energy and climate bill through the Senate this year.”

The resolution had the backing of Republicans and some coal-country Democrats like Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia. Colorado Republicans predictably slammed the EPA and praised Murkowski’s efforts.

“We’re not talking about a knee jerk reaction to an oil spill in the Gulf,” state Sen. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, said in a release. “We’re talking about the EPA taking authority they don’t have and declaring carbon dioxide a pollutant, which is absurd.”

You have to admit–even during the most vitriolic infighting and drive-by punditry, guys like Lundberg do a great job reminding everybody paying attention what side they’re really on.