Kerry Sparks Fight on Climate - Roll Call

In an already challenging election year for the majority, Sen. John Kerry’s (D-Mass.) rush to pass a climate change bill has many Democrats scratching their heads and charging that their 2004 presidential nominee could further imperil vulnerable Members this fall.
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“The United States Senate is not going to transition from doing health care to a [global warming] bill,” one Democratic Senator said. “It’s not going to happen.”
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Though Kerry has argued he has new momentum for a global warming bill given his collaboration with Lieberman and Graham — Kerry previously co-authored the bill that passed Boxer’s committee last fall — Democrats of all stripes said the political risks of taking up such an explosive issue are too great.

“It is laughable if Kerry and Boxer think Senate Republicans are going to pass a major environmental bill and have [President Barack] Obama sign it right before the midterm elections,” one Senate Democratic source said. “They make Don Quixote look like a realist.”

Indeed, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn (Texas) said doing climate change would “absolutely” be a gift to the GOP in an election year in which they already feel they are riding a tide of angry voter sentiment against Democrats.

“It would be, I think, further gasoline on the fire,” he said.
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Boxer, who supports Kerry’s efforts, said Reid has only promised to bring up a climate change measure if supporters can secure a filibuster-proof vote for it.

“If we get 60 votes for it, we’ll take it up. If we don’t, we can’t. That’s my understanding with Sen. Reid,” Boxer said last week. “So that’s going to be the goal, to get to 60. ... If we don’t, there would be no point.”