Yesterday Ace mentioned the two Republican primary candidates out here in California competing for the chance to unseat Senator Ma'am Boxer. He wrote that his impression based on limited facts is that DeVore is the true conservative and Fiorina is closer to the squishy moderate.

That's what DeVore wants you to believe, but it's far from clear that it's the truth. DeVore wasted no time attacking her for being pro-choice…even though she says she is pro-life. I asked Chuck's campaign consultant to explain where he got the idea that she was pro-choice and his explanation was less than convincing (I discuss it at "BTW").

And so it has gone since August. I haven't really come to a preference for either candidate so far. I like DeVore and I think he's a good guy. He'd make a good senator. He's been at this longer and his campaign is certainly better organized and better positioned to win the primary than Fiorina's. But I'm disappointed at the sleazy campaigning.

A new measure on the public option will be unveiled next week, which Senate Democratic leaders hope will break the logjam on healthcare reform.

Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), who has been tapped by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to come up with a Plan B approach to the public option controversy that has divided Democrats, has been working closely with liberal and conservative Democrats, as well as Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine).

In an interview, Carper acknowledged that Reid’s “opt out” public option bill does not have 60 votes necessary for passage, even though it cleared a procedural hurdle last month.

Kirk is one of a growing group of Republican candidates flip-flopping away from cap and trade as they stare down more-conservative primary challengers. Republicans who once flouted their green bona fides are tacking right, to the point of questioning the science behind global warming, believing it’s politically toxic within the conservative base to favor anything Democrats want to do about the climate.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who built his maverick reputation on crafting climate legislation, has emerged as a vocal critic of the Democratic bills. Charlie Crist, the Florida governor once known as “Gov. Green,” canceled his climate summit this year and has dropped most of his environmental initiatives. And even in California, considered to be at the forefront of environmental policy, Republican candidate Carly Fiorina urged lawmakers to have the “courage” to re-examine the scientific basis of global warming.

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, is calling on Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) to conduct hearings on a possible conspiracy between some of the world’s most prominent climatologists to, among other things, manipulate data on so-called global warming.

Inhofe said the recent disclosure of emails between several prominent climatologists reveal “possible deceitful manipulation of important data and research used by the US Global Change Research Program” and the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.”