Much has been made of the fact that Bill Frist at first said he was done holding votes on John Bolton’s nomination, only to turn around a couple of hours later to announce the opposite. The first position was taken freely, the second after a meeting at the White House.
And while that was the latest in a series of embarrassments for First, the most disappointing flip-flop belonged to Sen. Pete Domenici (R) of New Mexico.
As recently as five days ago, it appeared that Domenici was going to play the role of hero on addressing global warming.
A leading Republican senator, trying to shepherd a broad energy bill through the Senate, is urging the White House and other GOP senators to support a compromise proposal on global warming, including mandatory curbs on climate-changing pollution. […]
Domenici is prepared to co-sponsor a provision that calls for a mandatory 2.4 percent annual reduction in the growth of so-called greenhouse gas emissions if he becomes convinced it will not scuttle a broad energy bill, a Domenici aide said Friday.
The emissions provision is being championed by Domenici’s fellow New Mexican, Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D), who thought Domenici was on board. Indeed, Domenici indicated that he believed Bingaman’s proposal was a bi-partisan compromise on the climate issue, and even started lobbying other GOP senators to get on board.
Domenici aide Alex Flint told reporters, “He’s convinced we’ve got to do something” about climate change. Apparently he wasn’t too convinced, because after a brief gathering at the White House, Domenici had completely reversed course.
A key Republican lawmaker announced last night that he is not ready to support compromise legislation setting mandatory limits on emissions of gases linked to global warming.
The decision by Sen. Pete V. Domenici (N.M.), chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, threw into question the future of legislation sponsored by Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.). […]
[L]ast night, Domenici said in a statement that more time is needed to hold hearings and consider the matter. “It became clear that we do not have something ready to be added to the energy bill,” the statement said. “This is just too tough to do quickly.”
Funny, Domenici didn’t think so before going to the White House. In fact, Domenici was telling everyone just last Friday that an Energy Department report indicated that Bingaman’s proposal would cause virtually no reduction of GDP by 2020 while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 5.4 percent over what they otherwise would be that year.
But suddenly, Domenici changed his mind. The same proposal he was lobbying on behalf of a few days ago is now “not ready” and “too tough.”
Frist’s flip-flop was humiliating, but Domenici’s was tragic.