The Democrats in the House of Representatives have voted to destroy the United States economy unilaterally. The vote was 220-203. 5 people did not vote. (As of 7:15 p.m.)

The vote was extremely close. 8 Republicans voted yes. 43 Democrats voted no.

Your persistent phone calls kept the margin very narrow and now make it extremely difficult to pass the Senate.

We must keep up the pressure in the Senate. We also now have a lot of momentum going into the healthcare fight. Democrats cannot expect to hold the same economy destroying coalition together.

Also, several Democrats are now dead men walking. We will clean their clocks next year.

UPDATED: Both James Inhofe and Harry Reid predict the legislation is dead in the Senate.

Republicans voting yes: Bono Mack; Castle, Kirk, Lance, LoBiondo, McHugh, Reichert, Smith(NJ)

Congressman John Boehner is on the floor of the House of Representatives engaging in a rare House filibuster. Boehner, given unlimited speaking time, is reading the text of Henry Waxman’s 300 page amendment to the Cap and Trade legislation.

Here’s what I need you to do:

Go here right now to get your Congressman’s phone number.

Call your Congressman right now.

Tell him to vote no on Waxman-Markey, H.R. 2454, the cap and trade legislation.

Several Democrats who were voting yes are now undecided.

Call your member now.

Here is the list of swing Democrats on Cap and Trade.

Here is the list of swing Republicans on the issue.

If you don’t see your Congressman on the list, go
here, put in your zip-code, and find your Congressman.

You need to call right now. Tell your Congressman to vote no on the Cap & Trade legislation, H.R. 2454. It is coming to a vote today.

Brian notes in the comments that the legislation requires us to “unilaterally reduce our emissions without being contingent on China or India reducing theirs.”

It is also a giant tax increase on working families. Energy costs are going to soar.

Add these Republicans to the list of people to call about Cap and Trade.

Tell them to vote no on H.R. 2454.

Vern Buchanan (FL-13): 202-225-5015
Joseph Cao (LA-02): 202-225-6636
Vern Ehlers (MI-03): 202-225-3831
Rodney Frelinghuysen (NJ-11): 202-225-5034
Jim Gerlach (PA-06): 202-225-4315
Tim Johnson (IL-15): 202-225-2371
Mark Kirk (IL-10): 202-225-4835
Chris Smith (NJ-04): 202-225-3765

They are the swing votes on H.R. 2454, the Cap and Trade legislation.

If you live in their district, call now. If you don’t live in their district, go here to find your Congressman and call now.

From a letter to Rep. Waxman by Rep. Barton & Rep. Upton on the apparently burning need to pass HR 2454 before Memorial Day:

In your March 27 letter to President Obama concerning climate legislation in the 111th Congress, you seemed to agree. You told the President that “hearings, markups, and regular order are the best way to forge the compromises that will unite members from all parts of the country. As we work to achieve this consensus, we hope Republican members of our committee and of the full House will join the process too, so that truly bipartisan answers can be developed.”

However, your self-imposed Memorial Day deadline for reporting this bill necessarily requires that we short-circuit the logical legislative process that our democracy thrives on, and replace it with a frantic rush to judgment.

What is the hurry? If we wanted a bill sure to embarrass our committee, this is precisely the process we would adopt to create one. It began with secret negotiations, moved on to a decision to skip subcommittee consideration altogether, and now we face a scheduled markup. We appreciate that today you provided us with a copy of your revised language in the form of an introduced bill—H.R. 2454—that is 284 pages longer than your original draft. However, since the House is not in session today and will not be voting until Monday evening, Members will not have had any meaningful chance to even look at your new language; much less try and understand it before you start the markup. Not that this would make any difference, as we understand that you will be offering a complete substitute amendment at the markup that we will not see until it is offered. Mr. Chairman, this is no way to write any public law, much less one that will transform the way every person in our country lives and works.

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