Coal-ition

You can look past Benghazi and the IRS scandal and the ongoing troubles with the VA hospitals, and many Democratic politicians on the ballot this year would greatly appreciate it if you did that. But if you're a vulnerable Democrat, perhaps the one thing you have to worry about the most is economic disruption from regulation. And there are some very worried Dems right now:

A collection of seven Senate Democrats are pressuring President Obama to scale-back the proposed carbon limits on new coal-fired power plants. 

In a letter to Obama on Wednesday, the senators asserted that the technology the rule is based on is not commercially viable.

"We are committed to improving air quality; however, the emissions standards in the proposed rule are not based on technology that has been adequately demonstrated on a commercial scale," the letter, spearheaded by Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) and Joe Donnelly (Ind.) states.

Sens. Mary Landrieu (La.), Mark Pryor (Ark.) and Mark Warner (Va.), all vulnerable Democrats facing reelection in November, signed the letter. 

As is usually the case, the Obama administration is listening to other voices on these matters:

Billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer is launching a data-driven campaign across seven states for the 2014 midterms to prove he’s not all talk when it comes to hurting “climate deniers” at the polls. 

Steyer is using his success in last year’s Virginia governor’s race, where he funneled $8 million to destroy then-Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s bid, as a beta test for his midterm models.

The battle will be joined in about two weeks, when the EPA issues new regulations. Watch carefully.