Life Imitates The Simpsons – again

The Politico reports that Sen. Harry Reid (D.-NV) has hit on a new scheme for passing the chronically unpopular climate legislation that has been languishing since the House passed the Waxman-Markey bill over a year ago.  He’s going to attach it to a bill to impose restrictions on drilling:

The Democratic leader’s floor plan addresses a growing desire by the Obama administration to take swift action on any legislation that could prevent a future disaster like the Gulf Coast oil spill. Republicans who once would have resisted legislation that would impose new safety and environmental restrictions on the oil industry are now lining up in favor of such measures, in part to avoid being seen in the same light as Rep. Joe Barton, the Texas Republican who drew intense pressure from his own caucus after publicly apologizing to BP.

But Reid may also be playing with fire by pushing climate change provisions that nearly all Republicans have painted as an expensive new taxes and moderate Democrats see as an unpopular vote they’d rather avoid.

How could this go wrong?  I cannot help but be reminded of the Simpsons episode ‘Bart’s Comet”:

Kent: With our utter annihilation imminent, our federal government has snapped into action.  We go live now via  satellite to the floor of the United States congress.

Speaker: Then it is unanimous, we are going to approve the bill to evacuate the town of Springfield in the great state of —

Congressman: Wait a minute, I want to tack on a rider to that bill: $30 million of taxpayer money to support the perverted arts.

Speaker: All in favor of the amended Springfield-slash-pervert bill?

[everyone boos]

Speaker: Bill defeated.  [bangs gavel]

Kent: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: democracy simply doesn’t work.

Senator Reid could go down in history as the man who couldn’t get drilling restrictions passed following a massive oil spill.  If he does, it will be his own fault.  The irony is that the Gulf Coast economies will have to thank him for it.