In an election year bid to build public support for climate change legislation, Democrats and the Obama Administration used an all-night session on the Senate floor to call for action in the Congress, even as there was fresh evidence that Democrats aren't exactly united on how best to deal with global warming issues in Congress.
"We absolutely support the action taken to focus attention on the challenges posed by climate change and the impacts that climate change is having on our environment," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
"Climate change is real; climate change is caused by humans and climate change is solvable," said Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), as Democrats said there was ample evidence of rising seas, disappearing coastlines and longer droughts to merit a major legislative response.
Republicans ridiculed the extended Senate session as political theatrics.
"They'll have an audience of themselves," said Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), who has long been skeptical of claims about global warming - one Democrat later labeled Inhofe a "dangerous denier."
"Despite overwhelming scientific evidence and overwhelming public opinion, climate change deniers still exist in this Congress," said Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV).
But while the effort on global warming by Democrats will certainly gain some attention, it also papered over the fact that Democrats - even with a majority in the Senate - have not had the votes in recent years to get any legislation through the Senate on climate change.
And that's true again in 2014.
Stalled since 2009
In the summer of 2009, Democrats were able to push a major climate change bill through the U.S. House - what's known as the "Cap and Trade" bill - but that plan never even made it to the Senate floor for a test vote, even though Democrats have been in control of the Senate.
In fact, since Democrats took charge of the Senate after the 2006 elections, no major bill on global warming/climate change has made it to the floor of the Senate for a simple reason - Democrats don't have the votes to get it past what would be a bipartisan filibuster.
While almost all Republicans weren't around for the this climate change talkathon, Democrats tried as best they could to mention GOP lawmakers who have opposed legislative remedies on climate change.
"Congressional Republicans should stop rejecting science, and start working with Democrats to move our nation forward towards addressing this critical challenge," chimed in Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
Top Democrats though didn't note the fact that it is not only Republicans who oppose major legislation on global warming issues, as a number of Democrats aren't too keen on it either.
Four names not on the all-night speaker's list were Democrats who have very difficult re-election races this year: Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR), Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC) and Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK).
Also absent, a number of Democrats from Rust Belt and other industrial states, where heavy industry and coal mining could be hit hard by new laws on climate change, as Democrats like Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin were not on the list of advertised speakers.
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