Filibuster Threat Stalls Renewable Energy Mandate

The 56 votes killing a phony "clean" electricity amendment proved to be ominous. As support for the actual clean electricity amendment is short of 60 votes, according to CQ Today(subscription req'd) conservatives are threatening a filibuster. In turn, the amendment's backers are keeping it off the floor for now.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., guest blogging at Gristmill, said today:

To no one's surprise, the Republicans are throwing sand in the gears and trying to block any meaningful progress...

...when we tried to bring up the Bingaman amendment that requires the use of alternative energy sources, the Republicans in the Senate simply refused to vote up or down on it, essentially demanding that these amendments get 60 votes to even be considered...

...as I type this in the midmorning we're currently locked in a battle to move all of this forward.

Right now, this battle is playing out under the radar, with little media coverage and little awareness among Americans.

But we know that 65% of Americans want a strong requirement for more electricity to come from renewable energy.

The new Congress has yet to make the conservative minority sustain a filibuster, raising the profile of the issue, and forcing obstructionists to defend their minority view to the voters. Instead, in the face of filibusters, accommodation has been the way.

This time, why not keep this on the floor? Make conservatives explain to the voters why they don't want America to move towards a clean, independent energy future.

And see how long they last.

Views expressed on this page are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Campaign for America's Future or Institute for America's Future