Will Congress Read the Cap and Trade Tax Bill?

House Democrats are absolutely positively going to pass the massive cap and trade tax scam today, and to do so without the slightest scrutiny as to the massive ill-effects it will have on the economy.

I didn't expect them to read it yesterday, when I said that I doubt that they'd read the 1,092 pages of the original bill, but it goes without saying that they'll absolutely avoid reading the 300+ page amendment that sponsor Henry Waxman (D-MI) attached this morning prior to consideration by the House.

I can generally read about 100 pages an hour in a good page turner like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, but when you're dealing with the minutia of legislative changes, that page slows down considerably. In fact, it slows to a crawl, primarily because of the multiple amendments, effective dates, and the time it takes to comprehend and assess the changes being made.

House Democratic leaders want this bill pushed through today, so it goes without saying that few if any of those voting on the measure have actually had the time to read it.

Ed Morrissey at Hot Air notes that this bill smacks of a snake oil salesman in the way that it engages in delusional economic pandering as though the costs imposed on energy producers and emitters will somehow magically disappear. They will, of course, be passed on to the consumer, as such costs are always passed on. It's basic economics, and I doubt that Democrats in Congress have read up on that either.

In fact, Australia is preparing to kill its previously enacted climate change bill because of growing doubts over the underlying science.

UPDATE:
The House passed this atrocity and it was a bipartisan effort. 219-212, with eight Republicans voting for this mess. Kudos to the 44 Democrats who voted against, which tells you all you need to know about the Democrat numbers. Pelosi could afford to allow that many to vote against since she had these GOPers.

Quote of the day:
Never have so few stolen so much from so many to achieve so little.

I wonder about just how likely this bill is going to die in the Senate. The Democrats have the numbers again, and the GOP can't exactly filibuster. It would be close, and if it passes the Senate, President Obama will sign it into law - without reading it of course.

That's the new DC way.

UPDATE:
A further thought about all those Democrats who voted against this mess. Kudos to them. It was a bow to the financial and political realities of 2010. Voting against this was the only way that many of those Democrats would be able to save themselves from the inevitable attack ads in conservative districts. They'll still be on the defensive, but this vote was a strategic one on their part.

UPDATE:
Here's the breakdown regionally, courtesy of the New York Times.