I’m more disturbed that this all rode on one vote, one, on such a heavy issue. 

Not all of the worse case scenarios are likely to occur in every case – it’s not like every nuclear plant has a meltdown, either. I quote the article you pointed to: “fracking can be undertaken safely, as long as “best practices are implemented and robustly enforced through regulation.” The problem is, the buffoons in our General Assembly have stripped our Department of Environment and Natural Resources of both the authority and funding to implement or enforce adequate regulations. There are also real concerns about consequences that can’t be mitigated (property value loss, noise pollution, traffic damage from new heavy trucks on our already crumbling rural roads, what to do with the excess contaminated water left over from the process, etc.)

Of course, I don’t particularly like the idea of us spending more time developing new and innovative ways to get at new fossil fuels to burn regardless of how safe the extraction process is. Yes, some fossil fuels are still a necessary part of a global energy strategy, for now, but I’d rather see energy prices go up a wee bit and force us to more seriously consider renewable alternatives than burn more and more.

My home state: Christ, what an asshole.

This was not a situation where someone was trying to game the system, and it is ridiculous that the Republicans refused to suspend the rules.

Another Democrat changed her vote after a huge concession was added for her district.  No one cares about that overt bribery, because that’s just how the system works.  It’s the suspected bribery taking place here that we all care about.

Who comes up with these things?