tax incentives

That which cannot be named

There must have been a dozen separate speakers at the summit who mentioned the need for long-term extension of the renewable tax credits (PTC and ITC). Every one of them identified it as a necessary and beneficial policy, and just about every one lamented that Congress hadn’t done it. Only one speaker the whole day […]

‘Gang of 10,’ part 2.5

Part 1 argued argued that the Democrats would be smart to compromise on offshore drilling. Part 2 began an analysis of the bipartisan compromise proposed by the “Gang of 10” senators, suggesting that deal isn’t so bad. I am interrupting this series to point out that the House GOP is so nervous that the Dems […]

The good, the bad, and the ugly of the ‘Gang of 10’ drilling deal, part 2

Major legislative compromises are unsatisfying by design. They invariably have good, bad, and ugly parts. I have previously argued that the Democrats would be smart to compromise on offshore drilling. The rest of this series will examine whether the so-called Gang-of-10 deal is in fact a smart compromise. That question can be rephrased as, does […]

Cuckoo bananas energy policy from House conservatives

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) personifies just how haywire House conservatives have gone lately, particularly on energy issues. She quickly made a name for herself after being elected to Congress in 2006. In fact, she gained some dubious notoriety even before being elected, announcing to a Brooklyn Park, Minnesota congregation in October 2006 that "God then […]

The media will not tell the public the real story on the energy clash in Congress

I’m not sure what’s more astonishing, the current political drama around energy or the utter and complete failure of the media to portray it accurately. Let’s recall what’s happened over this past session. Congress had some 13 chances to support renewable energy, as bill after bill was put forward by Democrats. Republicans blocked them all. […]

Fact-checking the McCain campaign’s press call on energy policy

The McCain campaign held a press call yesterday on Barack Obama’s energy policy, in which their spokesfolks let fly a few statements that should be categorized as something other than truthful. Senior adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin: “Barack Obama has said no to more domestic exploration of oil and natural gas … He has said no to […]

McCain says he’d end his vacation from Congress to ‘drill here, drill now’

Originally posted at the Wonk Room.

In eastern Pennsylvania yesterday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) repeatedly argued, "We need to drill here and we need to drill now." His invocation of the slogan of Newt Gingrich's right-wing 527 corporation, American Solutions for Winning the Future (ASWF), was coupled with the following call for Congress to "come back to town and come back to work":

Congress should come back into session, and I'm willing to come off the campaign trail.

McCain's call for action on behalf of Big Oil and right-wing billionaires hardly jibes with his record of absenteeism on major votes. In fact, McCain has been on the campaign trail and fundraising circuit a tremendous amount this session, missing far more votes than any other member of Congress. His vacation from his elected duty has included some of the most important legislation considered by Congress:

Should Obama consider compromise on drilling?

Obama is taking lots of heat for his softening on offshore drilling. I have mixed feelings. On one hand, it’s extremely important to get the renewable tax credits passed, and Republicans have made it very clear they won’t allow that to happen unless they get some drilling. As usual, Dems don’t have the votes to […]

What power politics looks like

As I left for vacation a week ago (hi, I’m back!), I was thinking Republican strategy on energy couldn’t get much nastier. Of course I was wrong. The right is convinced that drilling is its ace in the hole — enough to reverse declining Republican fortunes, maybe even enough to turn a few elections. They’ve […]