Senator Kent Conrad Feeling “Encouraged” By Cap And Trade Bill

How in the world can a man who claims to represent a state made prosperous by the coal and oil industries say he is in any way, shape or form “encouraged” by a bill that would essentially put those industries (and the tens of thousands they employ in North Dakota) out of work?

The climate bill’s principle architects — Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) — are using the next three weeks to write a legislative outline, with plans to release the blueprint before the United Nations’ climate talks Dec. 7-18 in Copenhagen, Denmark. …
With an eye on 60 votes, Kerry and Graham have not been shy about trying to win over moderates, whether it be through negotiations on expanded domestic energy production or discussions of where the Obama administration is willing to bend if it means adding another supporter.
“The only way to get 60 votes in the Senate is to negotiate with the White House at the outset, at the same time” Graham said. “You don’t want to have three or four negotiation rounds.”
Several senators who E&E lists (pdf) as “fence sitters” on the global warming bill acknowledge they have been lobbied in the Capitol’s hallways and on the floor.
“I’m encouraged by it,” said Budget Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.). “Senator Kerry has certainly been good at reaching out. He’s been very serious about reaching out. We’ve been sharing things with him. We have more to share. He’s very good at listening, which is the best way of succeeding around here.”

That ought to send a chill down the back of every North Dakotan, whether you work in the coal/oil industry or not. Because like it or not, those industries are intertwined with the prosperity our state has enjoyed over the last several years (even as other parts of the country suffer through a nasty recession).
I suspect that if Conrad were closer to an election year, and it were time for him to put on his plaid shirt and walk through some wheat fields and pose next to some tractors, he wouldn’t be nearly so “encouraged” by this bill.