If you're a Republican presidential candidate, chances are that a few years ago you supported cap-and-trade as a market-based means of reducing carbon emissions to deal with climate change, but today you have to say that that approach was misconceived. But just how far do you have to go on this? One approach is to say that, sure, climate change is happening, but we just shouldn't bother to do anything about it.

With Republicans beginning to focus their efforts on passing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, and further spending cuts via the “super committee,” it’s natural to wonder what plan – if any – Democrats have for the coming months. At a meeting this morning with liberal bloggers, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi explained her strategy and how Democrats would move forward after the August recess.

Politico tells us that some GOP elites are not too excited about Rick Perry's potential presidential candidacy. Here are a few excerpts:

"What we don’t know about Gov. Perry is how he'll perform on the national stage. We know he's got a great record in Texas," [GOP strategist Charlie] Black said. "How well does he campaign in states that have different cultures? You know, non-Southern, non-Western states."...

Still, many Republicans express alarm about the possibility of nominating a man whom several compared to a "Saturday Night Live" caricature – "Will Ferrell doing a George W. Bush imitation," as one state GOP chairman said...

Yes, America may be mired in an economic swamp that both parties just decided to make worse. But if you're looking for something to feel at least a little bit good about, consider that no one takes this buffoon seriously anymore:

Our ongoing debt battle will soon move to its next phase, where the 12-member "super Congress" will attempt to negotiate $1.8 trillion in further budget cuts; if they can't come to an agreement, or if they do come to an agreement and their plan isn't adopted by the full non-super Congress, a package of cuts, taken equally from defense and non-defense discretionary spending (with a few programs held harmless) goes into effect. Jonathan Chait sees a silver lining in all this:

If you want a sense of how far right the Republican base is right now, even with the GOP’s huge victory on the debt ceiling, look no further than the Republican presidential candidates and their statements on the agreement reached last night.

For erstwhile moderate Mitt Romney, the deal is a non-starter: