Perriello: ACES Won on “New Politics”

In today’s column, E.J. Dionne Jr. has an interesting take on the U.S. House’s recent passage of the American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act:

Accounts of the battle typically focus on how many industry giveaways were added to the bill to get it passed, how much it had to be weakened to round up the necessary votes and how much pressure House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Obama brought to win a 219-to-212 majority.

All of that is true, but it misses another dimension of the fight: A number of relatively young, politically vulnerable House members who had campaigned on promises to cleanse the environment decided that this vote was a risk worth taking. “A bill created by the old politics,” says [Virginia Rep. Tom] Perriello, “was passed by the new politics.”

Did your member of Congress support ACES? You can find out here.