For those who don’t remember, the Copenhagen Treaty is intended to replace the Kyoto Treat, which expires in 2012. Kyoto is the utopian treaty created by the rabid enviro-socialists at the United Nations with the intent of crippling first world economies to stop “anthropogenic interference with the climate system.” Translated, that means that they want to shackle Western economies to stop evil man from interfering with the environment. Why only Western economies? You know the reason.
In any event, Kyoto was a nightmarish treaty that no rational American wanted to see signed. Which is not to say it wasn’t popular. The third worlders all signed up with glee, because they had to do nothing under the treaty except open bank accounts and wait for Western guilt money to start flowing. The Western Europeans signed up for it because they are led by retarded baboons who despise their own people. American leftists wanted us to sign up for it because they had visions of recreating the paradise that was East German dancing in their heads. . . see if you want a wall between us and Mexico then!
But our politicians knew better. . . they refused. Evil Bush right? Not so fast. Evil Clinton was the first to refuse to send it to the Senate. And polar bears died. After evil Clinton left office, evil Bush too refused to submit it to the Senate. And while he was much pilloried by the Democrats for making the world hate us by keeping us out of their economic suicide club, evil Obama too refused to submit the Treaty to the Senate when he took over.
But evil Obama did something quite clever. He told his less-than-bright supporters that he wanted to submit it to the Senate, but with Kyoto expiring in 2012 and soon to be replaced by Kyoto, it just made more sense to forget about Kyoto and to instead focus on getting Copenhagen signed. They bought it.
Yet, something was rotten in Copenhagen, as we pointed out in THIS October 20 article that you all should have read. . . it will be on the test. Based on comments made by Obama’s chief negotiator, we warned you that it looked like Copenhagen wasn’t going to happen. Not only did Obama demand more cuts from the third worlders than they were expecting -- (and they were not happy about it, let me tell you! It’s one thing to join a suicide club as an observer, it’s another to be expected to participate!) -- but the Westerners were grumbling that they didn’t like the idea that they had to pay the third worlders in exchange for their participation.
We also noted that Obama has refused to agree to the limits the treaty proponents wanted on emissions. And this made everyone sad.
Well, this weekend, our dire prediction came true. Copenhagen went down in non-fossil-fuel flames when a group of Asian world leaders (and Obama) agreed that the Copenhagen Treaty could wait until 2010. . . or even later.
Said U.S. negotiator Michael Froman:
"I don't think the negotiations have proceeded in such a way that many of the leaders thought it was likely that we were going to achieve a final agreement in Copenhagen. . . There was an assessment by the leaders that it was unrealistic to expect a full, international legally binding agreement to be negotiated between now and when Copenhagen starts in 22 days."Le French, however, weren’t buying it. They blame Obama. Whined French Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo: “The problem is the United States, there’s no doubt about that. It’s the world’s number one power, the biggest emitter, the biggest per capita emitter and it’s saying, ‘I’d like to but I can’t.’ That’s the issue.” Sacre bleu! Sounds like somebody wants to smack Obama with his purse!
Of course, I don’t know what the French are crying about. If they really want to shut down their economy, they can start without us.
In the end, Obama’s historic unemployment rate has convinced him that now is not the time to mess around with leftist thinking. Obama has managed to lose or not save an additional 5.2 million jobs beyond those Bush already managed to not save. And unemployment hasn’t peaked yet. So, apparently, sometimes, saving the world can wait.
I agree with all your points (especially about the French... they have a 20 year head start in ruining their economy) except for the bit about Obama not following through because of the high unemployment rate . He hasn't cared one whit about the unemployment rate thus far as evidenced by the trillions of debt he's piled on, the raising of taxes that's coming and his constant push for universal healthcare in spite of only 17% of the public (according to a recent ABC poll no less) even consider it important. His team has even been repeating the mantra "it'll get worse before it gets better". Off year elections are coming up, but again, he really hasn't even cared what many in is own party think.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I have no idea why he would really delay the treaty.
What a relief. Thanks for the article.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Opus. They are talking about getting a "face saving" treaty passed right now, but even that is in doubt. Apparently, they've already agreed to strip out all of the targets -- which makes it largely meaningless.
ReplyDeleteUSArtguy, I do think that he is honestly concerned about unemployment because he (and the Democrats up for re-election) know that unemployment is an incumbent killer. This Treaty would have been devastating for that. Cap and Trade, which would only go part of the way toward what they were talking about was estimated to result in six million more jobs lost -- more than he's already lost.
ReplyDeletePurse? I thought French men wore European organizers?
ReplyDeleteCould it be that Obama cares more about his re-election chances (which grow dimmer by the day) than the polar bears? It will be interesting to see who he blames for this one within his administration. Froman?
Great post, Andrew.
Funny, they looked like purses to me. . .
ReplyDeleteI seem to recall Obama telling us at one point that we could no longer wait, we had to act immediately or it would be too late. Old daffy Prince Charles and a couple other doomsayers backed him up on that too.
But I guess when it comes down to saving the world or getting elected to another term, Obama has reassessed his priorities.
Good news Andrew! But watch for something sleazy, or underhanded with Barry and his merry Marxist. There’s to much power to be gained through Cap-n-Tax, for a Marxist, like bees to honey!
ReplyDeleteAlways watch for the double cross Stan, but don't let that keep you from enjoying the irony.
ReplyDeleteI guess he's finding out that international diplomacy and being President is kinda' hard and it's not like community organizing at all. It doesn't really work too well when you don't have a gaggle of fawning "yes men" to agree with your every thought and word. Well, that and maybe Obama realized he would have to give up his 71-car motorcade...
ReplyDeleteBev, I think you're right, he is finding it a lot harder than he expected. I really think he thought:
ReplyDelete"I'm a charismatic, intelligent guy -- everyone says so -- and everyone thinks like I do. All I need to do is say that we should do the right thing, and everything will work itself out."
But that's not the way of the world.
Andrew: At last, a liberal who got mugged by reality. Unfortunately, it's only in one small area, but it's a start.
ReplyDeleteAs we discussed in earlier articles, he knows that high unemployment combined with his otherwise dismal record of convincing the American people he plans to do anything reasonable about it, would be the death of his administration in 2012. But this would simply have piled more unemployment on top of the already burgeoning numbers. It won't save him, but this one action will not damage him any further, except with his leftist base.
Lawhawk, You're right. And you've put your finger right on the real problem for him. His base wants him to do these things, no matter what. Without his base he cannot win.
ReplyDeleteBUT, the rest of us (who far outnumber his base) want no part of this. He's promised himself into a Catch-22.
Andrew: A couple of pieces of history for those mulling over this minor victory. Kyoto was the original cap 'n trade monstrosity, and we still can't be sure where our juvenile president is going with that bill. People generally believe that the Senate did get the Kyoto Accord for a vote, but you are correct. The possibility of such a crippling and foolish bill was so appalling, that the Senate did something a little unusual. Gore, on Clinton's behalf, futilely signed the Accord in November of '97, but in July, expecting that result, the Senate voted a resolution that it would never become law in the United States and would never be ratified in anything like its final form. The vote was 95-0 (Al Gore couldn't vote "yes" because as Vice President, he could only vote to break a tie vote).
ReplyDeletePeople tend to remember that vote as a vote on the treaty as submitted to the Senate, but as you say, Clinton knew better than to submit it. The Senate passed a pre-emptive warning shot across Clinton's bow. And the charge was led by The Grand Old Man of the Senate, constitutional scholar and Grand Kleagle of the Ku Klux Klan, Robert Byrd.
Lawhawk, Algore signed it on November 12, 1998. And you're right, it was symbolic at the time because the Senate had already made it clear that they would not adopt the Treaty until it imposed requirements on the third world as well. Both Al Gore and Lieberman stated this at the time.
ReplyDeleteBut once Clinton left office, the left (as they always do) hypocritically attacked Bush for not submitting it to the Senate for vote -- even though Clinton hadn't done it and even though they knew it wouldn't pass. But that didn't stop them from trying to put all the blame on Bush for it's "failure".
Andrew: Isn't Bush (take your pick) responsible for everything bad that's happened in the U.S. in the past 20 years?
ReplyDeletePS: You're right, it was '98. Clinton and Gore had multiple opportunities to sign before then, but waited until the heat was off to make their symbolic gesture.
I believe you're right Lawhawk, Bush is evil personified! LOL!
ReplyDeletethe french are whing about the U.s. being the largest abusers of emissions?! are they crazy? what of china, frenchies?!
ReplyDeleterush had an interesting take on the delay. he thinks china told barry (i'm paraphrasing here), "Oh hell to the no. pay your debt to us down first, then we'll think about what we'll allow you to do next." barry bowed to the pressure.
Patti, Since Barry's worried about getting the Chinese to keep loaning us money, that could very well be what happened.
ReplyDeleteI am a little surprised by this. I was thinking the developing countries would sign up, promise to make the cuts, just to get the developed countries to cut their own throats. Then the developing countries would just do business as usual and keep blasting out the carbon dioxide and to hell with their targets.
ReplyDeleteI guess they ran the numbers and decided they still need the US and Europe to keep buying all the sneakers, washing machines and electonics they are making for us.
Andrew, you're right about Obama's past rhetoric.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the Wall Street Journal, speaking about global warming one year ago Obama said, "Now is the time to confront this challenge once and for all. Delay is no longer an option."
I guess it became an option again since then.
JB1000, I think they realized during this last recession just how much the world economy relies on the US.
ReplyDeleteMike, I remember that quote. Maybe we missed the part where he whispered ("just kidding") as he said it?
ReplyDelete