If the all the arm twisting and browbeating employed by Nancy Pelosi and her leadership team is any indication, then Democrats in the House have decided that passing the cap and trade energy tax is a hill they are willing to die on.
Given the latest data from Rasmussen, they may get their wish. Forty-one percent (41%) of Americans oppose the climate change bill recently passed by the House, whereas 37% support the bill. While there is a predictable partisan split on the bill, it is a losing issue among Independents as only 24% of Independents support the bill at all, compared to 38% who strongly oppose the legislation.
Given this data, it seems that a number of Democratic House Members threw caution to the wind in order to appease the liberal wing of their party. Thirty-six of them to be exact. Thirty-six Democrat members in districts that have a Cook Partisan Voting Index that leans Republican voted in favor of raising energy taxes on working families.
Drilling down on the vulnerable Democrats who voted for Waxman-Markey: we find:
· Four Democrats in CPV R+10 or better
· Seventeen Democrats in CPV R+5 or better
More troubling for Democrats who voted for the cap and trade bill is that 42% of Americans believe that this bill will hurt the economy as opposed to 19% who believe that it will help the economy. Furthermore, a majority (52%) of independents believe that Waxman-Markey will hurt the American economy. Given that the economy continues to be the number one issue on the minds of voters this does not bode well for vulnerable Democrats. While anyone would be foolish to raise taxes in the midst of a recession, the 12 Democrats who voted for Waxman-Markey despite representing a state with an unemployment rate higher than the national average could potentially face the toughest reelection campaigns.
