President Bush is back at his old tricks again, antagonizing the authority of state governments in favor of executive power.
The latest blow is one of his pet projects. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) declared today that the recent energy bill, signed by Bush just the other day, was enough to override the state’s right to set emissions standards, which of course were far tougher. The federal emissions standards, largely shaped by the Bush politburo, favor the auto industries who claim that higher emissions standards would hurt their already weak business.
Aside from the fact that this has enabled Detroit to destroy itself, by not offering vehicles that are fuel efficient enough for the marketplace (the 70s all over again), it supersedes the Republican claim of “State’s Rightsâ€.
This isn’t, of course, about fuel emissions, this is about power, namely, the ongoing battle between federal and state authority.
The EPA claims their following a “clear national solution†to emissions standards, not some “patchwork of statesâ€. While this smacks of federal executive power, it also looks suspiciously like corporatist authoritarianism, also known as Neo-Liberalism. Bush and most of the Republican party are Neo-Liberals (just don’t call them that to their face, unless you want Cheney to strangle you with piano wire in your sleep), which promotes corporate rule, less social services (like Social Security, welfare, workers comp) and all resources are exploited for the sake of multi-national corporations. Neo-Liberalism is what most modern Conservatives have become, ironically.
The Bush junta has battled so-called “state’s rights†every chance it gets. In respect to the fuel emission standards, it’s been an ongoing fiasco that has wasted years of high emissions and millions of taxpayer dollars, as it always does when the federal government fights the states in the courts. Ultimately the Supreme Court favored the States, however Bush had his EPA simply ignore the high court, then reinterpreted the recent energy bill as a reassertion of Federal authority.
Sounds to me like ol’ Dick “The Devil Himself†Cheney could be back in the loop. The Iraq War, torture, Scooter Libby and a great deal other factors seemed to have side-lined Dick Cheney in recent months. This was obvious since Bush’s decisions had lost their sense of intelligence, not to mention Dick was nowhere to be found, locked away in his man sized safe in his undisclosed location. Bush floundered like a fish out of water, as his buddies were either chased from office like Gonzo Gonzalez, or simply abandoned him. I suppose it makes sense that as Bush enters those final years of his Presidency, he will ask himself, what will they remember me for. It also makes sense that he’d turn to Cheney, since he is really one of the only guys left from the beginning. I can only speculate, however recent events seem that Cheney is possibly back in Bush’s good graces.
In a recent Frontline story (you can watch the entire episode here), Dick Cheney is revealed to be a fanatic about Executive power. He’s been involved in 4 Presidential Administrations and has done everything he can to weaken the constitutional authority of Congress, the States and even local governments in favor of concentrating power in the Presidency. This includes the President being able to go to war without Congress (despite what the Constitution says) and even being able to ignore laws signed by the President’s own pen by using something called “signing statements,†which involve the President essentially signing a bill, then declaring the bill unconstitutional after he signs it. The most notorious use of “signing statements†was the White House torture policy, which basically ignored the McCain anti-torture bill only after the White House turned the signing into a photo-op. It sounds illegal and as far as I can tell, it is. But the Cheney and Bush lawyer team are creative with their immense power, not to mention, morally bankrupt. They basically do whatever they want and then rationalize it after the fact. They’ll even use Jesus as their partner in crime.
So when Bush puts on his cowboy hat and talks about any of the following: states rights, the environment, the Constitution, conservatism, disgust of lawyers, torture and even the free market, you can tell him where to stick that bulls__t.
As I witness today, yet another costly fight between California and the Federal Government begin, it saddens me. The U.S. has declined heavily under Bush. Infighting, pro-multi-national corporate policies, aggressive war and a large portion of Americans being strung along with the word Jesus have loosened the foundations that made this nation strong. Everything about these guys is wrong.
Bring on the election so we can put this embarrassing chapter of our history to rest.
National Emissions Trends
Carbon Monoxide (CO) Emissions
2002
Source:Department of Transportation