Kirk still can't explain cap and trade vote

Congressman Mark Kirk met for two hours on a recent Sunday with an overflow crowd of about 100 to 150 mostly hostile Republicans in Arlington Heights to explain his yes vote on the cap and trade bill. He was one of only eight Republicans to vote yes on this bill. Unfortunately, Congressman Kirk never did explain why he voted yes.

Of course he could not retract his vote or even admit that he made a mistake. However, it was clear that he underestimated the negative reaction.

He did not and could not explain why he voted for a bill 1) that neither he nor his Republican colleagues had read and studied (he said he had read 800 pages of the 1500 page bill before he voted); 2) that was supposed to improve our energy independence, but hardly touches on the major energy initiatives he favors; 3) that will result in potentially the largest tax increase (via business cost pass throughs) in history, contrary to his strong positions against tax increases and more federal government spending.

This bill is supposed to help with climate control, but there is evidence we may not even be in a global warming period and it is far from certain whether it is being influenced by human activity.

To Congressman Kirk's credit he did come to the "lion's den" where he got a well-deserved ear full of strong criticism. He did a very good job at explaining the many votes he has cast and legislation he either wrote or sponsored in favor of energy independence, fiscal responsibility and a host of other major conservative issues. All of which makes his vote even more perplexing. What are we missing?

Could he have just been trying to appease a small but influential group of environmentalists in the eastern part of his district?

Roland G. Ley

Arlington Heights