IS THE Senate climate bill doomed? It certainly took a hit Saturday, when Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), hitherto the bill’s lone Republican backer, threatened to abandon the effort. Mr. Graham, who had worked with Sens. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) for months on the bill, derided Democratic leaders for opening the way to take up immigration reform before the climate bill, calling the move "a cynical political ploy" and claiming that it endangered the climate effort. He has a point.
Painstaking negotiations on the substance of a compromise climate bill are nearly complete. Mr. Graham, Mr. Kerry and Mr. Lieberman have gone to extraordinary lengths to attract a coalition of supporters, including environmental groups, electric utilities, businesses, the Christian Coalition and even oil companies. Fence-sitting senators concerned about the bill’s effects on manufacturing and American competitiveness seem to be coming around to the idea of pricing carbon. This emerging coalition, backers claim, is still behind the bill.
Lindsey O. Graham is holding the earth hostage…, over politics. Immigration reform. And the Republicans’ refusal to do anything.
Take a deep breath — if you still can — and call or email Lindsey Graham: