The House of Representatives passed a sweeping climate-change bill Friday – a major victory for President Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that left Republicans fuming about a ‘national energy tax they said would exacerbate the nation’s economic woes. The vote was extremely close – 219-212, with eight Republicans voting yes and 44 Democrats voting no. And the debate leading up to it was intense. In the hours before passage, Rep. Geoff Davis, a Republican from Kentucky, said the cap-and-trade bill represented the ‘economic colonization of the heartland by New York and California. Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) called the bill a ‘scam that would do nothing but satisfy ‘the twisted desires of radical environmentalists. Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) called it a ‘massive transfer of wealth from the United States to foreign countries. Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio countered that, without the bill, the United States would remain energy-dependent on people who want to ‘fly planes into our buildings. Republicans accused the Democrats of ramming the bill through the House. Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.), managing the debate for his party, asked repeatedly if there was even a copy of the current version of the bill […]