A Top Priority Is Reining In EPA's War On Coal
“[T]he senator said his top priority is ‘to try to do whatever I can to get the EPA reined in.’
“‘It will be hard because the only good tool to do that ... is through the spending process, and if (President Barack Obama) feels strongly enough about it, he can veto the bill,’ McConnell said. ‘But I view it as a complete outrage that he could not get cap and trade through the Congress when he owned the place — owned the place — and decided to do it anyway.’
“As he rattled off the coal-producing counties he won Tuesday for the first time in his career, McConnell said he feels a ‘deep responsibility’ to stop the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating carbon dioxide emissions at coal-burning power plants.
“‘I'm absolutely convinced from the people I talk to around the country, not just here but around the country, that coal has a future,’ McConnell said. ‘The question is whether or not coal is going to have a future here. It's got a future in Europe. It's got a future in China, India, Australia. But not here?’“He added: ‘It makes me very angry, and I'm going to do everything I can to try to stop them.’”
It’s worth noting that in this week’s elections liberal environmentalists who poured tens of millions of dollars into races to defeat candidates opposed to the president’s costly EPA regulations on coal plants came up short. The Wall Street Journal reports, “Billionaire activist Tom Steyer’s drive to make climate change a winning issue in this year’s midterm election fell short as several Democratic candidates he supported lost amid the Republican sweep in Congress and state races. NextGen Climate Action Committee, the PAC that Mr. Steyer created in 2013 to press climate change as a political issue, spent $65 million in the current election cycle, with the bulk of the money going to support four Senate races and three governor races where there was a distinction between candidates on climate and energy issues. . . .
“Democrats lost in four out of the seven races Mr. Steyer supported, including the Colorado Senate race, where Democratic Sen. Mark Udall lost to Republican Rep. Cory Gardner, and the Florida governor’s race, where former Democratic Gov. Charlie Crist failed to unseat Republican Gov. Rick Scott. . . . Among the other races Mr. Steyer poured money into that didn’t go his way: Republican Joni Ernst beat Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley in the Iowa Senate race and incumbent Republican Maine Gov. Paul LePage fended off a challenge by Democrat Mike Michaud and independent Eliot Cutler.”
The WSJ editors offer a harsh assessment of Steyer and his allies’ tactics today: “If you want proof that money doesn’t buy elections, Mr. Steyer and his fellow green comrades are it. The San Francisco investor gave most of his money to his NextGen Climate Action Super Pac, which spent almost exclusively for Democrats. Environmental groups including NextGen spent $85 million to support President Obama’s green agenda, especially his regulations targeting coal for extinction. They didn’t even get a lousy T-shirt, and they aren’t taking it well. . . .
“Voters in Pacific Heights or Manhattan may not mind paying more for their self-styled political virtue, but the average Debbie in Dubuque would rather not. The mistake too many Democrats made was listening to Mr. Steyer instead of Debbie.
“This year’s environmental debate boiled down to Democratic support for Mr. Obama’s climate rules and green subsidies against full-throated Republican support for energy production of all sorts, including coal, oil and natural-gas fracking, more pipelines and greater fossil-fuel exports. These GOP candidates won nearly everywhere.
“In Kentucky Mitch McConnell made opposition to the ‘war on coal’ the centerpiece of his campaign. He won what was expected to be a close election by 15 points. Coal-supporting Shelley Moore Capito became the first GOP Senator in 55 years from West Virginia, where voters also ended the 38-year career of Democratic Rep. Nick Rahall, who couldn’t separate himself from Mr. Obama’s energy policies. Nearly every one of Mr. Steyer’s favored candidates — in Colorado, Iowa, Florida, Wisconsin and Maine — lost.”
The Journal editors conclude, “Republicans are promising to push pro-fossil-fuel energy policy in Congress, including support for Keystone XL, fast-track approval for liquid natural-gas export terminals, opening more federal land and offshore areas to drilling, and reining in anti-coal regulations. Democrats who want to help create jobs, and perhaps save their own, may want to rethink their fealty to Tom Steyer’s checkbook.”
Tags: Mitch McConnell, U.S. Senate, top priority, reign in, War on Coal To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Posted by Bill Smith at 11:45 AM - Post Link
2 Comments:
Unlocking power from coal is much more efficient than bird killing federally subsidized windmill farms!
Or just cut the EPA down and give property owners their rights back.
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