Bob Barr

[GG]

I introduced a Washington Post article as an example of what I was talking about earlier in the thread. If you don't like that source, there are a variety of others you can access. And of course the guy has an axe to grind, just like many others who have unsuccessfully attempted to work with this administration. I'd be pissed too if I'd put in all that work and some pack of jackasses not only dismissed it but wouldn't even acknowledge it.

 

But the Wash Post story is precisely a reflection of the administration's management style, rather than the substance of the actions. I think we've flogged the dead horse enough times about the administration's inability to explain its actions or be more diplomatic about the way they do things. But a lot of it is also their agenda to get things done and leave all the political niceties in the dust. They've been very effective at that.

 

Interesting that every other thread here contains wishful thoughts of an administration that breaks down the Washington red tape to get things accomplished. Everyone talks about change. Well, what in the world do people want changed? If you introduce change into the political process, you will step on a lot of careerists in DC whose livelihood will be endangered. What do you think they will do? How much pushback did Pentagon lifers give Rumsfeld & Bush due to humanitarian policy disagreements vs their pet projects being canned? Same at State? Pick any place that's been target of Bush & Co.

 

As for the latest EPA fiasco, I'm sorry that I can't get exercised about it, because I can't separate the message from the messenger. You fault other for not reading into stories, I recommend you follow the dots, as well.

 

The latest hero - Jason Burnett. Not only does the guy have an axe to grind, but there's pretty heady motivation for his actions. I can only imagine the uproar if the shoe was on the other foot. At least WSJ reveals the potential conflict in reporting the story on Lord Vader.

The disclosure about Vice President Cheney's role came from Jason Burnett, who until last month was the EPA's associate deputy administrator. Mr. Burnett, whose duties included advising EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson on a range of issues involving climate change, is a supporter of the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama (D., Ill.) and has contributed extensively to the campaigns of other Democrats -- giving more than $100,000 since 2000, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based government watchdog.

 

No, I tend to lean toward state's rights, although that is increasingly difficult as the world becomes a more complicated place.

As for California's attempted waiver, it strikes me as a secondary issue. The administration cited the weak proposal that they did enact after they blew off the EPA and Supreme Court. But I don't believe for a second that they would have ever even considered California's proposal regardless of the proposal the EPA tried to submit. They would have undoubtedly found another of a dozen reasons to reject the waiver request.

And regardless of surrounding minutiae my original point still stands; this administration is incapable of any kind of dialogue, flexibility, compromise or progress. Anything outside of their own absurdly narrow agenda is a non-starter which they won't even deign to consider. imo they are the weakest most embarrassing leadership and the worst thing to happen to this country in my lifetime.

At the very least we can only hope their gross incompetence and blustery cowardice has set fundamentalist radical conservatives and the religious right back a generation or three.

 

The California waver was a primary issue, and it certainly would play a role later on, as the administration and the friggin EPA would have a much harder time enforcing national standards when state standards are different.

 

I think we can all get wrapped in a feel god blanket of global warming to push new legislation. What's left unsaid is the alternative. There's nothing I hate more than serial complainers who offer no viable alternatives, which is what the most recent Congress has turned into. I happen to agree with the administration on this law, because the government should not be in the business of picking winners & losers in emerging technologies. If you think that the science and consequences are all settled look no further than the runaway success that the ethanol legislation became. I seem to recall it being lapped up as the saving technology by a gullible public & the press.

 

So yes, raising mileage standards would be a good thing if it only worked in isolation. But, unfortunately, US energy policy does not lend itself to neat solutions and only this administration is blocking their implementation.