UPDATE: See, I told you so.  As I noted on my first post on this subject, the Gang of 10 is throwing Obama and the Democrats a lifeline.  Guess what?  Obama grabbed it!!!  Thanks for nothing, Gang!!

Our Number 3 in the GOP Senate leadership, Lamar Alexander, is supporting the Democrat plan otherwise known as bi-partisan.  WSMV in Nashville is reporting that Lamar! supports the Gang of 10 Plan.

Here’s the snippet from WSMV: surpriselamarsupportsgangs

Here’s the link to their story.

What of this mysterious plan?  Well, as a taxpayer the government will “pay you” up to $7,500 to buy a hybrid or non-petroleum operating vehicle.  Remember the gas tax holiday that Corker called “pandering extraodinaire“?  Well, heck, $7,500 must be the dollar amount that won’t qualify for pandering but instead defines “real reform.”

And look, our two GOP Senators have filled out all the necessary paperwork and officially adopted the Democrat way of doing things.  From WPLN in Nashville:

Corker says the bill will be paid for by forcing oil companies to pay more taxes on revenues generated from oil produced in the Gulf of Mexico.

Dear Lord.  If Corker and Alexander can adopt Democrat strategies and policies, can I adopt Oklahoma’s Senators as my own?  I’m over the Maverick routine.  I’m sick of leaders like Lamar and Corker selling out principles.  

You watch.  McCain is dragging John Thune around with him.  And like Paris Hilton’s chihuahua, McCain always stuffs Lindsey Graham in his travel bag.  These are the gang of 10. And will you be surprised if John McCain just happens to come out in favor of this big government-mega-billion dollar plan? 

While Boehner in the House and many awesome GOP men and women fight the good fight, these sell-outs will sell us out more.  Their plan takes care of them and leaves the party dangling in the wind.  You can only be a maverick on issues in situations where brave Republicans pin the Democrats to the floor.  It’s at that point that the Grahams and the McCains of the world can jump on the warriors’ backs and stab away to the cheering and applause of our media and to the delight of the Dems. 

By the way, Ernest Istook, who calls himself a “recovering” Congressman, has a great piece over at Human Events today that addresses the Gang of 10.  He raises the idea that maybe the plan is just a “fake” negotiation.  Maybe.  But then here’s a couple of excerpts from a man who knows his way around:

Their proposal includes a limited expansion of drilling off the shores of four states (Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia), conspicuously excluding Florida, all the West Coast and Alaska, but at the price of spending untold billions to subsidize alternative fuels, at least $30-billion in new energy taxes, and what sounds suspiciously like banning internal combustion engines from cars.

Needless to say, their plan deserves scrutiny in addition to the initial praise heaped upon them by those who say we must “do something” rather than “do the right thing”.

and near the end he writes:

Weasel words can be expected to outweigh action, offering a possibility of very minor expansion of offshore drilling in exchange for a wagonload of liberal proposals.  Liberals are searching for ways to pacify constituents angered by energy prices, but without having to change their extremist environmental policies.

And it looks like Paris Hilton is supporting the Gang of 10 plan, or something along those lines.