So, remember the stimulus bill? The one with all the green tax breaks and incentives?

It lost today in the Senate today, by one vote.

Every Dem voted for it, as did moderate Republicans Specter, Collins, Snowe, Smith, and Coleman, plus Grassley, Dole, and Domenici.

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Gregg and Sununu voted the wrong way (as they did on the energy bill).

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So who could have made the difference on this crucial fight in the battle against global warming? Why, maverick climate crusader John McCain!

Only he did not elect to return to D.C. and vote. And so the bill died. What a maverick!

Here’s the Sierra Club’s press release. I’m sure there’ll be stories about this in the papers tomorrow. Wonder if anybody will call McCain on his fake greenery.

UPDATE: McCain couldn’t make it back to D.C. today to help the wind and solar industries. But he can find time in his schedule to return to D.C. tomorrow to speak at the far-right CPAC conference. Mavericktastic!

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UPDATE: Friends of the Earth makes the same point.