Kerry to Climate [Swindle] Bill Backers -- 'Get Angry' - NYTimes.com

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) urged climate bill supporters today to strike a populist note in lobbying for a sweeping new environmental law that will reduce traditional air pollutants while also tackling global warming.

"I want you to go out there and start knocking on doors and telling people this has to happen," Kerry said during a conference hosted by labor, farming, military veteran and environmental groups. "You know if the Tea Party folks can go out there and get angry because they think their taxes are too high, for God's sake, a lot of citizens ought to get angry about the fact that they're being killed and our planet is being injured by what's happening on a daily basis by the way we provide our power and our fuel and the old practices we have. That's something worth getting angry about."

Kerry, a lead author of Senate energy and climate legislation, tried to make the case that his efforts would help curtail summertime spikes in hospital visits for childhood asthma. And he also insisted that a cap on greenhouse gases would drive private investments in new clean-energy technologies and help restart the economy.

"We need to recognize that the biggest single stimulus package in the United States of America is the energy climate change legislation," he said.