Castle: I was not particularly convinced that Cap and Trade was a good bill
Jul 17th, 2009 by David Anderson
I can imagine an interview with Rep. Castle. (DP) Congressman, then why did you vote for it? (MC) Well it was tough 51-49% (DP) How would you know when you had not even been privileged to see the bill? (MC) I met with Nancy Pelosi and she told me it was going to be changed to address any legitimate concerns. (DP) Did your leadership ask you to at least hold your vote back until last to pressure wavering Democrats? (MC) I told them to stuff it and was one of the first to vote for it. (DP) Did they ask you not to vote for it. (MC) I don’t recall. I actually had my staff run interference and tell them I was a supporter then hung out in Pelosi’s and Hoyer’s offices to avoid them.
Do you think this is fictional? It is not too far off. Read the report in the TheHill.com, but have your aspirin ready.
Following meetings with Democratic leaders — including Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) — Castle was one of eight Republicans who supported the bill, which narrowly passed House late last month, 219-212.
“Even voting for it, I was 51-49 percent because I never was convinced that was a particularly good piece of legislation,” Castle said.
GOP leaders tell a different story.
Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) says that he did talk to Castle about voting no on the Democrats’ cap-and-trade bill.And a GOP leadership aide familiar with the Republican whipping effort said, “Mr. Castle and his office were contacted a number of times and were whipped throughout the week. Leadership received the same answer with every conversation and contact: Mr. Castle was a ‘yes’ vote on the cap-and-trade legislation.”
The Republican staffer said leadership asked Castle to “hold his vote until the very end of the 15-minute vote to make passage of this legislation harder for the Democrats. Curiously for an undecided member, he was one of the first Republicans” to register his support on the floor.
Perhaps a man such as Mike Castle who has become a millionaire after a life of servicing the public is trying to pull a ‘mulligan’ after his typical arrogance and servitude to special interests.
Remember the role of Governor Mike Castle in dumping the usury laws so that his rich banker friends (and supporters) could gouge the public with ever-increasing credit card interest rates?
It seemed to be a quick fix at the time but perhaps some of our elected officials should consider the side effects of their brilliant activities.
We may not always send the brightest and best to Washington and Dover.
Castle’s vote for cap & trade was acually the tipping point for me to no longer be a 100% Republican supporter and find a new political philosophy to follow.
Why would he vote yes on a bill that would affect the economic lives of everyone but the Amish if he can’t even see the bill and is only about 51/49 on whether or not it is good? You have to make a call all of the time and make your best guess, but when you can’t even see the changes to bill saying wait or I vote no should have been easy.
The Bill was not perfect but it was a start. Now is the time to work for the changes in the Senate version.
Yeah, it’s a ‘start’…toward a tripling of energy prices.
The Republican party should not be abandoned because of the missteps of one person. Get involved and make a difference.
Imagine a primary election with Palin taking a stance.
These could be interesting times.
“Yeah, it’s a ’start’…toward a tripling of energy prices.”
Never mind that 30years from now we will all be walking around with face masks and a life expectancy of 45..Oh I forgot that WOUld save a lot of money.
A tripling of energy prices? Rick must have made that one up, as per usual from the farside!
It is almost past time that we must address the global warming issue, as well as the issue of our energy dependence which has us heading toward slavery, only this time it will be more than black Americans slaving away.
Yes, it will cost us, I don’t know how much, but it will also force the market to invest capital into alternate, clean energy sources, an investment which will pay off for our children and grandchildren.
But for us it will mean more belt tightening, which we deserve because we have been so neglectful of our energy future since Ford and Carter in the ’70′s, and neglectful of the casino capitalism on Wall Street, both driving this nation into the poor house, as the GOP wants to continue both while they ignore these past American messes!
We all should realize that Mike Castle is the obsequious hireling of some special moneyed interests. If his Wall Street buddies can make a fast buck on a deal, Mike is their go-to guy.
When the bloodsuckers at MBNA wanted free reign to gouge the public, Delaware abandoned the usury laws and allowed ‘Gouge-o-matic’ to be the new role. The banker bailout was another example. “Cap and trade” includes new “financial instruments” in the form of those “environmental indulgences” that should increase the wealth of Al Gore.
Mike Castle has had his snout in the public trough for most of his adult life and has prospered at the art of politics. How can his net worth be explained on the basis of his government salary?
Our nation needs to slip the bonds of politics as usual that enrich a few insiders and provide comfortable sinecures to their sycophants.