It is pretty clear that the environment and all those in the U.S. trying to protect it are going to be facing a full court press when the 2011 Congress moves in. As Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) recently said, “if they think it’s bad now, wait till next year.”
The New York Times has a new editorial on this matter, which basically gives Obama a big push to protect the EPA from this assault. It reminds us of the attack President Bill Clinton endured in the mid-’90s.
In 1995, the Newt Gingrich crowd came to town promising to overturn a whole body of environmental law. Mr. Clinton rose up, not only winning the big battles, but eventually compiling a sterling record. Mr. Obama should emulate him.
However, it also notes that protecting the environment hasn’t been a strong point of the Obama administration.
President Obama’s political advisers have shown little enthusiasm for environmental issues. Mr. Obama himself ceded leadership on the climate-change issue to Congress, which ended up doing nothing….
Leading climate and political blogger Dr. Joe Romm agrees wholeheartedly with this piece. In summary of his views on this matter, he states:
The key to EPA’s defense will indeed be Obama’s personal commitment to and involvement in the defense. To date, yes, the administration has been sending mixed messages at best on the environment — with its baffling March 31 decision (recently partially reversed) to open large parts of the US coast to offshore drilling (see EIA: New offshore drilling will lower gas prices in 2030 a few pennies a gallon), and, of course, its catastrophic failure to fight for a climate bill (see “The failed presidency of Barack Obama, Part 2“).
I hope Obama gets his act together on this critical topic and stands up with full force to the unfriendly Republicans in Congress looking to block any sort of movement to address the issues important to future human livability.
Photo Credits: DonkeyHotey; DonkeyHotey
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Zachary Shahan
If you couldn't guess, I spend most of my time on CleanTechnica and Planetsave. I'm the director/editor of both sites and am a little obsessed with them and the topics they cover. I'm also Publishing Services Manager at Important Media, which means that I do everything I can to support other Important Media writers, editors, and directors (as well as the network as a whole) in the good work they are engaged in. You can also find my work on Scientific American, Reuters, Change.org, most of the sites in the Important Media network, & many other places. For more, or to connect, go to: zacharyshahan.com
3 Responses to NY Times on GOP’s Intention to Attack EPA & Country
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[...] pandering to the new Congress. Seems that starting so soon into 2011 would be a bad idea given the trouble Republicans have committed to causing, but the Obama administration didn’t seem to learn in its first two years that [...]
McConnell’s home state of Kentucky has one of the worst environmental records due to the sell out to the coal industry. The result is the highest cancer death rates in the nation.
Check it out for yourself at: http://mitchmcconnells-kentucky.blogspot.com
[...] While we haven’t seen the environmental impact of these elections yet, you can be sure we will. In regards to the Senate’s outright obstructionism, which is holding the welfare of U.S. citizens, the economy, and the environment hostage, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) recently said, “if they think it’s bad now, wait till next year.” Read more here: NY Times on GOP’s Intention to Attack EPA & Country [...]