Dark Lord attempts Alaska drilling
Dec. 27th, 2005 10:29 amFrom yesterday's Newsday:
Senator Voldemort
Ted Stevens loses on Alaska drilling
December 26, 2005
Like Lord Voldemort, the You-Know-Who of the Harry Potter series, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) refuses to stay dead - in the parliamentary sense. So here's a good bet: Even though Stevens suffered a stinging defeat last week in his long fight to allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, he will return in yet another scary guise.
For now, Stevens is licking his wounds, muttering about the senators of both parties who rejected his most recent trickery: He had attached an ANWR drilling provision to the huge defense appropriations bill, which also contained funding for hurricane relief. His gamble was that senators would do anything to avoid even the appearance that they were voting against soldiers and hurricane victims. He lost.
Thanks to Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), most other Democrats and a handful of brave Republicans, You-Know-Who was unable to round up the 60 votes necessary to close debate on the main bill. Then the Senate narrowly voted to remove the drilling provision and easily passed the defense bill without it. So Cantwell and environmentalists have won a brilliant victory. But there's no question that the Dark Lord of Drilling will be back. Be afraid.
Copyright 2005 Newsday Inc.
no subject
Date: Dec. 27th, 2005 11:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Dec. 28th, 2005 08:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Dec. 29th, 2005 11:19 am (UTC)fitting striking parallel *S*