Late last night Harry Reid took the Senate floor to advance a motion to shut down debate on the Boxer Climate Tax bill, also know as "cap-and-trade." Reid's "cloture" motion, if successful, will have the effect of silencing the bill's critics in the Senate. After cloture is adopted, no amendments to the bill will be allowed.

Clearly, Reid and Boxer see the writing on the wall. If this bill is subject to too much scrutiny it will crumble under the weight of its own stupidity. As I mentioned earlier, this debate is taking a very similar shape to the debate over so-called immigration reform. The heavy-handed tactics employed by the pro-amnesty crowd in the Senate are now being employed by the leftist enviros. Silencing dissent is their only chance.

The problem for them, is the Senate is built to allow dissent. As was the case with immigration, a small but vocal minority took down the bill. History may repeat itself in the coming days.

-- Atlas is a conservative congressional aide, and a long-time fan and reader of Right Wing News.