Profiles in Perfidy: The Republicans Who Took Away Your Light Bulbs
On the podcast we recorded yesterday, James Lileks got Rob and me so worked up about light bulbs that we became--yes, I know, you see it coming--incandescent. It's not enough for the federales to squander trillions of dollars of our money. Now they have to tell us what light bulbs to use.
Spluttering with anger, I issued a bleg, hoping that some member of the Ricochetoise could come up with a list of any Republicans who voted in favor of the legislation mandating the new light bulbs--and who now have some explaining to do. Sure enough--Lord, but I love Ricochet--several of you swung into action. Here, we reproduce the list compiled by Jan-Michael Rives. (For some reason, his formats especially neatly.)
House - Aye
| Aderholt, Robert [R] | AL-4 |
| Bartlett, Roscoe [R] | MD-6 |
| Brown-Waite, Virginia [R] | FL-5 |
| Buchanan, Vern [R] | FL-13 |
| Capito, Shelley [R] | WV-2 |
| Castle, Michael [R] | DE-0 |
| Dent, Charles [R] | PA-15 |
| Ehlers, Vernon [R] | MI-3 |
| Emerson, Jo Ann [R] | MO-8 |
| Everett, Terry [R] | AL-2 |
| Ferguson, Michael [R] | NJ-7 |
| Fortenberry, Jeffrey [R] | NE-1 |
| Gerlach, Jim [R] | PA-6 |
| Gilchrest, Wayne [R] | MD-1 |
| Hayes, Robin [R] | NC-8 |
| Inglis, Bob [R] | SC-4 |
| Johnson, Timothy [R] | IL-15 |
| Jones, Walter [R] | NC-3 |
| Kirk, Mark [R] | IL-10 |
| Knollenberg, Joseph [R] | MI-9 |
| Kuhl, John [R] | NY-29 |
| LaHood, Ray [R] | IL-18 |
| LoBiondo, Frank [R] | NJ-2 |
| McHugh, John [R] | NY-23 |
| Miller, Candice [R] | MI-10 |
| Petri, Thomas [R] | WI-6 |
| Platts, Todd [R] | PA-19 |
| Ramstad, James [R] | MN-3 |
| Reichert, Dave [R] | WA-8 |
| Rogers, Michael [R] | AL-3 |
| Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [R] | FL-18 |
| Saxton, H. [R] | NJ-3 |
| Shays, Christopher [R] | CT-4 |
| Smith, Christopher [R] | NJ-4 |
| Walsh, James [R] | NY-25 |
| Wolf, Frank [R] | VA-10 |
House - Did Not Vote
| Burton, Dan [R] | IN-5 |
| Buyer, Stephen [R] | IN-4 |
| Calvert, Ken [R] | CA-44 |
| Johnson, Samuel [R] | TX-3 |
| Lucas, Frank [R] | OK-3 |
| McHenry, Patrick [R] | NC-10 |
| Norwood, Charles [R] | GA-10 |
Senate - Aye
Senate - Did Not Vote
| Bond, Christopher [R] | MO |
| Brownback, Samuel [R] | KS |
| Coburn, Thomas [R] | OK |
| McCain, John [R] | AZ |
| Shelby, Richard [R] | AL |
In re which, two questions:
1. Does any of you live in a district represented by one of these august members of Congress?
2. If so, would you send your Representative an email or letter, letting him know how you feel about his decision to tell you which light bulbs to purchase--and then post his reply?
In my judgement, we ought to give a grade of A to any member of Congress who simply and straightforwardly admits he was wrong, a B to any member who just as simply and straightforwardly stands his ground, arguing that he was right--and an F to any member who (as I suspect many will) tries to have it both ways.
Ricochetoise, over to you.
Thanks to EJHIll for the great illustration.
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Comments :
May '11
Re: Profiles in Perfidy: The Republicans Who Took Away Your Light Bulbs
I've never been more proud of Kentucky than when I look at that list and see that no Kentucky Republican reps. voted for this craziness.
Jun '11
Re: Profiles in Perfidy: The Republicans Who Took Away Your Light Bulbs
Et tu John Thune?
May '10
Re: Profiles in Perfidy: The Republicans Who Took Away Your Light Bulbs
I would love to know what explains their votes. Not what explanations they give, but what's really behind it. Can they possibly believe the propaganda, even after climategate? Or are they beholden to special interests?
May '10
Re: Profiles in Perfidy: The Republicans Who Took Away Your Light Bulbs
I heard on Mark Levin (I think it was) that Rick Perry is defying congress. He has said the incandescent light bulb is welcome in Texas. May his tribe increase.
Edited on Jun 23, 2011 at 10:49amDec '10
Re: Profiles in Perfidy: The Republicans Who Took Away Your Light Bulbs
Gordon Smith - the Republican Senator from Oregon - voted for this. He had a campaign strategy of trying to suck up to libs in our deep blue state. He was successful only in alienating the Republicans and thus lost his re-election bid in 08. I'm not happy that we now have Dem in his place, but it really isn't any different.
Nov '10
Re: Profiles in Perfidy: The Republicans Who Took Away Your Light Bulbs
Here's a little karmic justice: Rep. Vern Ehlers (R-MI) announced his retirement before the 2010 midterms. His seat is now held by Justin Amash, who is one of the most libertarian members of Congress.
Aug '10
Re: Profiles in Perfidy: The Republicans Who Took Away Your Light Bulbs
Tim Carney at the Washington Examiner regularly writes about the corporatist politics of green industrial planning. At least once a week he has nasty things to say about the Obama administration's relationship with GE.
Likewise Conor Friedersdorf recently wrote a great rant about CFLs. Personally, I like CFLs just fine, but I agree with Conor's point that people have different tastes and the government should respect that something which is no big deal to me is a hardship for him (and vice versa). Even if the government has a legitimate interest in getting us to curtail our energy consumption, it is illegitimate and inefficient for it to tell us how to to curtail it.
The two issues come together in that mandates are perfect from the corporatist mentality --- what could be better from the perspective of big business than the government forcing us to buy their products? Furthermore I think it's worth pointing out that there's a Norquist angle in this. Raising taxes on energy and thus providing an incentive for each of us to conserve in the way we each find least painful would violate the pledge, whereas a far more intrusive regulation does not.
Feb '11
Re: Profiles in Perfidy: The Republicans Who Took Away Your Light Bulbs
There is this - Free Our Light - a group who has a petition to reverse the ban, I don't know their success but their FB page and petition are worth a look:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Free-Our-Light/176502899059621
May '10
Re: Profiles in Perfidy: The Republicans Who Took Away Your Light Bulbs
"I issued a bleg"? Peter, you must have been mighty angry to do something like that.
I live in a Democratic People's Republic, so no doubt my rep voted for this idiocy.
I read somewhere that the legislation (what is the name of the bill, anyway?) was mostly written, as I suppose most legislation is nowadays, by the lobbyists representing such firms as Phillips Electronics, who stood to gain the most by making us buy $4 florescent bulbs instead of .75 - $1 incandescents. And Bush signed it!
I lost a lot of respect for GWB after that. We've got to punish these reps who allow themselves to be captured by these big-money interests at the expense of our liberty.
Edited on Jun 23, 2011 at 11:13amSep '10
Re: Profiles in Perfidy: The Republicans Who Took Away Your Light Bulbs
Petri, Thomas [R] WI
I'm not in his district, thankfully. He is a typical moderate wind sock without a single discernable principle on any major issue.
Unfortunately, he has been in that seat since the Carter administration, so we'll just have to wait for him to hang it up on his own terms.
Jul '10
Re: Profiles in Perfidy: The Republicans Who Took Away Your Light Bulbs
The bill had much more bad policy in it than just the lightbulb ban. (Shame on George W Bush for signing it).
It took 6 months from introduction of the bill to signature. We're now 6 months into the new Republican House majority and these clowns can't even repeal the lightbulb ban?
Re: Profiles in Perfidy: The Republicans Who Took Away Your Light Bulbs
I live in Chris Smith's district.
Chris is popular among conservatives because he may be the most pro-life member of the house. Should that alone make him a "conservative?"
He supported cap and trade.
Now this lightbulb thing.
He is in such a Republican district that Democrts get frisked just driving through. We are use to him. He's been there since he was in his 20's (his oppenent got taken down by ABSCAM the summer of the election).
I fear no matter how far left he drifts, we won't get rid of him.
This is still New Jersey after all, where Democrats are Democrats and so are Republicans.
May '10
Re: Profiles in Perfidy: The Republicans Who Took Away Your Light Bulbs
As usual, Peter, you're much too generous. If a Congressman is hoodwinked into supporting tyranny, however innocently, that is a failure which should call his judgment on future legislation into question.
I don't care if they honestly regret their mistakes or if they continue to be innocently blind to the full consequences of their actions. That's between them and God. All I care about is whether or not they will now fight tooth and nail to revert government authority to its proper boundaries. A simple "Sorry" does little to restore my confidence.
I fully support non-compliance with the light bulb ban. The Left's public school history books heap copious praise on figures like Rosa Parks for refusing to obey grossly unjust laws. Let's thank them for a lesson learned.
May '10
Re: Profiles in Perfidy: The Republicans Who Took Away Your Light Bulbs
CORRECTION! It wasn't on Mark Levin, it was on the Ricochet podcast that I heard about Perry defying Congress. My bad.
Dec '10
Re: Profiles in Perfidy: The Republicans Who Took Away Your Light Bulbs
Not only can they not repeal a light bulb ban, NPR is still getting our money. It seems that even the smallest tyrannies are impossible to end.
Edited on Jun 24, 2011 at 10:36amAug '10
Re: Profiles in Perfidy: The Republicans Who Took Away Your Light Bulbs
My Tennessee representatives did not vote for it. That's the good news. But both my Tennessee senators (Republicans, or so they say) voted for it.
This is embarrassing.
May '11
Re: Profiles in Perfidy: The Republicans Who Took Away Your Light Bulbs
The new Texas statute specifies that incandescent lightbulbs can be used if they are manufactured in Texas. I think that is due to the commerce clause which applies to interstate commerce. South Carolina is considering similar legislation along with other states. Perhaps the ultimate effect of the federal ban will be production of new non-green jobs. Ironic.
Apr '11
Re: Profiles in Perfidy: The Republicans Who Took Away Your Light Bulbs
I'm shocked to see the ladies from Maine on the senate list. Or maybe I'm just shocked that they still put an R next to their names.
Jun '10
Re: Profiles in Perfidy: The Republicans Who Took Away Your Light Bulbs
I think the vote must have been before Climategate. The emails came out in Nov 2009, and several people have mentioned that W. signed the light bulb bill so that must have been prior to Jan 2009.
Dec '10
Re: Profiles in Perfidy: The Republicans Who Took Away Your Light Bulbs
My GOP representative Jim Gerlach voted for this bill, and I just sent a note to him asking for his reasoning.
He is frequently accused of being a RINO-- with some justification-- but tends to win primaries as his heavily gerrymandered district is one in southeastern Pennsylvania that the GOP believe will be difficult to win with anyone other than a more moderate Republican.