PrintMarch 22, 2010
Voter Backlash Beyond ObamaCare
Voter anger is building on issues beyond ObamaCare. The large group of people already angry over runaway spending and ObamaCare are now being joined by those angry at the EPA for moving forward with controls on greenhouse gases without congressional action -- and without considering the economic impact on the economy. Like the Tea Party movement, this group cuts across geographical and political lines.
A bipartisan mix of eighteen governors signed a letter to congressional leaders last week. This move is supported by Washington Democrats such as Senator Jay Rockefeller and the Democrat congressmen from the eastern coal mining region. Rockefeller is calling for a two-year suspension of EPA greenhouse gas regulations. The co-sponsors in the House include Nick Rahall and Alan B. Mollohan, also of West Virginia, and Rick Boucher of Virginia. Several Republican congressmen and senators are in favor of similar legislation.
Mining, oil, and manufacturing are not the only industries that are raising the alarm about an EPA in pursuit of its own agenda (and to hell with the economic consequences). I keep RFD-TV on as background noise most mornings. Almost every news show on the cable channel for rural America features Agribusiness interests concerned that the EPA's efforts in this area will have a deep impact on their costs. Dairy and pork producers are particularly concerned, as they are already suffering from major drops in demand in 2008 and 2009.
On a drive across rural Wisconsin last fall, I was struck by the large number of white barns and milking sheds standing empty where there were once huge herds of Holsteins. Many farmers are wondering why they ever elected Democrats to Congress in the first place. They certainly didn't think it would mean being strangled to death by regulations that would meet the approval of the likes of Robert F. Kenndy, Jr., the intellectual giant who thinks hog farmers are a greater threat to America than al-Qaeda.
A Charleston, West Virginia Daily Mail editorial says that Congress should listen to states on the EPA.
"As governors, we have the responsibility to protect jobs, promote economic growth and mitigate any threats to financial stability in our states," said the statement. "We oppose EPA regulation of greenhouse gases that fails to account for these responsibilities."[The agency] is not equipped to consider the very real potential for economic harm when regulating emissions," the governors said. "Without that consideration, regulation will place heavy administrative burdens on state environmental quality agencies, will be costly to consumers and could be devastating to the economy and jobs."
The editorial ends with this warning: "The governors speak for their people's interests and from their experiences in the real world."
Congressmen need to stand up as well, or constituents will find new people who do.
Since Pelosi and Reid haven't listened to any practical political advice since January 2009, I suspect that they will continue to march to the beat of their own political drum -- and straight to the blade of a political guillotine. Perhaps cartoonist Michael Ramirez will soon need to add another belt of dynamite labeled the EPA to his controversial cartoon.
