Joe Lieberman: Climate Savior?

Joe Lieberman angered a lot of liberals recently with his declaration of opposition to Harry Reid's opt-out public-option provision. But liberals who also care about climate-change legislation may want to temper their rage. Lieberman has long championed climate-change legislation in the Senate, and is emerging as a critical player in the current effort. Politico reported back in September that Lieberman had been busy meeting with a bipartisan group to figure out a path forward on climate change. In a recent interview with the National Journal, Lieberman gave some insight into his negotiating strategy.

Lieberman knows they won't get to 60 without concessions on four key areas: nuclear, coal, agriculture, and manufacturing. Satisfying a few senators with interests in each of those industries might be enough to get the bill across the line. It looks as though Lieberman and his pals have found people to champion each issue. Tom Carper from Delaware is working on coal, Debbie Stabenow from Michigan is taking the lead on agriculture, and Sherrod Brown from Ohio is active on manufacturing. It sounds as though Lieberman himself will be central to nuclear negotiations, which makes sense given that he's close to Republicans like Lindsey Graham and John McCain who care deeply about expanding the nuclear sector.

The notion of concessions to farmers and coal burners probably makes environmentalists shudder. But it's also the only way a bill will pass in the Senate. They should consider that a bill, even an environmentally weak one, is better for the planet than no bill. Regulatory frameworks can be modified once they are passed, but it's usually passing them in the first place that is the hard part.

Lieberman has been around the block on this one—indeed the last major attempt at this legislation in the Senate bore his name. He's become somewhat of a realist on the topic and he likely knows that cobbling together an unholy alliance between coal, nuclear, manufacturing, and agriculture is the only way a climate bill will move through the Senate any time soon. Liberals may not like the idea of giving props to the wandering independent, but on this one, it looks like they'll have to.