- New York Times -
Senate Democrats believe they've found a surefire way to force Republicans to support a sweeping climate and energy bill that directly addresses greenhouse gas emissions.
Now all they need is the actual legislation.
Democrats admitted yesterday that they have yet to rally around any of the legislative proposals currently on the table but now believe they know how to use the Gulf of Mexico oil spill to secure the necessary Republican votes once they do.
According to a staff-written summary of yesterday's closed-door caucus meeting obtained by E&E, senators discussed a legislative strategy "more akin to the financial regulatory legislation than of health care, with Democrats bringing to the floor an impenetrable package that Republicans could not roadblock."
Democratic senators declined to discuss the exact details of their strategy after emerging from the hourlong talks. But its basic thrust appears to be a plan to anchor the climate and energy effort to widely popular legislation that would overhaul offshore drilling regulations in the wake of the Gulf spill, and then dare Republicans to vote against it.
"We're going to challenge some of our Republican colleagues to do what I know they know is the right and necessary thing for America, and we're going to get 60 votes or more," Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) told reporters.
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