Hot Dish Politics quotes T-Paw:

I think the Copenhagen summit is focused on an issue that has now become very controversial. And I think it’s a good idea to follow the science on this, in these matters, and the science is somewhat unsettled. … And the Copenhagen summit and the approaches that are being pursued there are in the nature of a cap and trade proposal a global cap and trade proposal and I think that’s the wrong direction.

These gas pumps on Lafayatte Street in St. Paul couldn’t agree more:

Photos: Chris Steller/MnIndy

Marathon is one of several gas-station chains that have been displaying point-of-purchase political ads at self-service pumps across the country for several months now. Customers are directed to OurEnergyVoice.com.

But if Pawlenty and the pumps see eye to eye, the same can’t be said for the governor and his own reflection in the rear view mirror. For more than a year now, he has been doing doughnuts around his past statements on the dangers of global warming.

In addition to Bachmann, the ads are targeting Republican Reps. John Boehner of Ohio, Denny Rehberg of Montana, Lee Terry of Nebraska, Roy Blunt of Missouri, and Blaine Luetkemeyer of Missouri, as well as Democrat Jason Altmire of Pennsylvania.

“Stain,” as the ad is titled, “highlights the cash from Big Oil and other special interests taken by Members who voted against the American Clean Energy & Security Act, a comprehensive clean energy and climate plan that will put America back in control of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet,” according to a statement from the Sierra Club.

Here’s the full ad:

(WDCpix)

This week Minnesota’s members of Congress went back to work after the July 4 break, except for Sen. Al Franken who was showing up — finally — for the first time. Rep. Keith Ellison put forward a credit reform bill, Rep. Betty McCollum announced her plan to expand the Peace Corps, and Republicans criticized the Democrats’ energy and stimulus policies. Here’s how the week shook down:

Rep. Keith Ellison introduced legislation to reform credit rating agencies on Wednesday. “When these agencies put their mark of approval on complex products they confer a legitimacy that may not actually exist,” he said. “We’ve learned of instances where credit rating agencies have given top ratings to products backed by dubious mortgages and other loans. Under current law there was really no one looking over the agencies’ shoulders to make sure that they were making reasonable assumptions or had even a basic understanding of the risks they were assessing.”

Rating agencies are currently subject only to limited oversight by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), but are critical elements of the financial system.

Rep. Michele Bachmann sent a video to people attending the Tea Parties over the weekend; she was appointed to the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute’s Advisory Board; and she says that President Obama is destroying the American dream — or, rather, the American dreams of Chrysler auto dealers.

Rep. Betty McCollum is gearing up for a Congressional softball game. Proceeds from the game be donated to the Young Survival Coalition (YSC), a group that works to educate and support young women living with breast cancer.

McCollum also spoke passionately on the House floor on Thursday about expanding the Peace Corps.

[T]oday the Peace Corps, one of the most successful foreign policy initiatives, is at a crossroads. Peace Corps is not capable of meeting the demand of Americans of all ages who want to serve… We have an opportunity here today in this moment to reinvigorate Peace Corps for the next new century, but it’s going to take leadership from Congress. The President’s request simply was not enough, even though the President does propose to double, increase and fully fund Peace Corps out into the years.

Rep. James Oberstar is still pushing a $450 billion funding bill and $50 billion for high-speed rail. Also, Oberstar was in New York on Friday with Obama’s transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, to mark the 50th anniversary of the St. Lawrence Seaway, which is crucial to Duluth’s status as a seaport.

Rep. Erik Paulsen talked to the Eden Prairie News about the cap-and-trade energy bill working its way through Congress. “If we’re going to be serious about securing our energy future, we need to focus on having nuclear energy be a part of that,” he said.

Rep. John Kline penned an editorial for the website “America’s Right” slamming Obama’s stimulus policies. “Republicans are committed to pro-growth policies that will get our economy back on track without saddling future generations with unmanageable debt,” he wrote. “We offered a stimulus plan that would have created twice the jobs for half the price.”

But Media Matters says his statement doesn’t hold water: “[T]he GOP got its ‘twice the jobs’ claim by misusing a formula in an academic paper that they later admitted they weren’t able to understand in the first place.”

Sens. Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar split their votes on immigration policy, specifically on the border fence between the United States and Mexico. Franken voted against it. Klobuchar voted for it.

One of Franken’s first tasks as senator was to sign on to the Employee Free Choice Act, a pledge he’s made throughout his campaign. “I just became a cosponsor of my first bill in the Senate, the Employee Free Choice Act,” he said on Tuesday.

Peterson has shown before he’s unafraid to obstruct Democratic-backed legislation. The bill, which includes controversial “cap and trade” measures to control greenhouse gases, now moves to the U.S. Senate.

But not before receiving a parting shot from Texas Republican Lou Gohmert, who in a one-minute floor speech said he resented colleagues’ cheering passage of what he off-handedly called the “crap and trade” bill (video).

In a statement, Ken Bradley, state director at Clean Water Action, said “While the bill is not perfect, we’ve seen strong support from our members across the state for passing ACES and moving forward toward a clean energy economy. Ultimately, our members know that energy and global warming are directly tied to our water quality and quantity. In the land of 10,000 lakes, Minnesotans want bold action to protect our natural places.”

Clean Water Action noted that Rep. Erik Paulsen, a freshman Republican, voted against the bill despite hopes that he might swing the other way in deference to home-district voters who favored Obama last November. As if to demonstrate defensiveness, Paulsen released a video within minutes of the bill’s passage to explain his vote (he does not call it “crap and trade”):

I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight back. Thomas Jefferson told us, having a revolution every now and then is a good thing, and the people — we the people — are going to have to fight back hard if we’re not going to lose our country. And I think this has the potential of changing the dynamic of freedom forever in the United States.

Audio after the jump.

Smart Politics notes it’s not the first time since the election of President Obama and a new Democrat-led Congress that Bachmann dubbed her conservative compatriots “foreign correspondents reporting to you from enemy lines.” The metaphor, combined with her “armed-and-dangerous” rhetoric, drifts close to Sean Hannity’s excited speculation about a militant right-wing reaction.

But if she sounded like any kind of journalist, it was a 1950s writer for the show-biz rag Variety. Here’s what she said about climate-change doubter Christopher Horner, who she is bringing to the Sixth District for two appearances in April: “He gave a boffo speech out in D.C. … people’s socks will be knocked off.”

Think Progress has the full audio from Bachmann’s Saturday appearance on WWTC-AM.

Here’s the key minute (h/t DumpBachmann):