The problem with lines in the sand? They get washed away by the tide.

As many of you may recall, back in the early stages of the health-care debate, the Congressional Progressive Caucus claimed they had drawn a metaphorical line in the sand over whether the bill included a public health insurance plan. To the disappointment of many liberals, they eventually caved and voted for the bill lacking this public option. Many have accused Rahm Emanuel as being the architect of Obama's "ignore liberal demands and they will still vote for the bill" strategy. Sadly to say, Rahm Emanuel is completely right.

Now The Hill is reporting that house liberals are jettisoning this strategy and encouraging the negotiations in the senate over the climate change/energy bill. That isn't to say for those of us who favor a strong cap and trade bill, or even a carbon tax, this is bad news. The public option fight over health-care actually did win many concessions, such as funding for community health centers. Without the appearance of a strong liberal bloc, the bill will lurch to the right.

I don't actually think that liberal lawmakers are weak for not putting their foot down over cap and trade. The fact of the matter is that republicans and conservadems don't even want a climate change bill in the first place (with a few notable exceptions). The conservative democrats at least would probably just wish Obama would not bring up any sticky issues at all. Many of their constituents don't even believe in global warming. It is one thing to negotiate with people with the same concerns as you, it is another to negotiate with those who don't even want a bill in the first place. Drawing a line in the sand will only kill the bill, and the liberals are the only ones who don't want that to happen.