General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsObama White House Blasts Mitch McConnell For Telling States To Break The Law
http://www.politicususa.com/2015/03/20/obama-white-house-blasts-mitch-mcconnell-telling-states-break-law.htmlObama White House Blasts Mitch McConnell For Telling States To Break The Law
By: Jason Easley
Friday, March, 20th, 2015, 12:19 pm
The White House is laying into Mitch McConnell after the Senate Majority Leader wrote a letter to the nations governors telling them to ignore new EPA rules.
In his letter to the governors, McConnell wrote:
.
This proposed plan is already on shaky legal grounds, will be extremely burdensome and costly, and will not seriously address the global environmental concerns that are frequently raised to justify it. Moreover, declining to go along with the administrations legally dubious plan will give the other two branches of government time to address the proposal and will not put your state at risk in the interim. It will provide time for the courts to rule on whether the EPAs proposed rule is legal, and it will give Congress a chance to address numerous concerns surrounding this latest power grab by the EPA.
The White House fired back via spokesman Frank Benenati, Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges that we face, and instead of offering solutions, Sen. McConnells alternative is an inappropriate and unfounded attempt to dictate state decisions. While Sen. McConnell and the other climate deniers in Congress will do everything they can to block or hinder the administrations progress on climate change, the administration is committed to moving forward to tackle climate change head on because science, history, and the American people are on our side.
Sen. McConnell is openly telling states to violate federal law. There has been a great deal of public outrage over the 47 Republican senators who sent a letter to the Iranian government, but little has been said about the Senate Majority Leader trying to undercut the federal government by advising states to break the law.
Republicans have learned nothing from the Affordable Care Act debacle. Republican governors believed that they could stop the ACA by refusing to set up their own exchanges. They are applying the same failed principles to the EPAs new rules. If states dont submit compliance plans, the EPA will do it for them. McConnell is advising states to take away their own power.
What Mitch McConnell is trying to do is worse than when Speaker Boehner invited Netanyahu to address Congress. McConnell is actively trying to undermine the Executive Branch of the federal government. McConnell is urging states to break the law. The Republican Party is quickly becoming a lawless enterprise that exists for the sole intention of undermining President Barack Obama.
Old Codger
(4,205 posts)Conspiracy .................
movonne
(9,623 posts)NJCher
(35,620 posts)I read hard copy, and I think it's on the front page. I have a cold, though, and my thinking's not the clearest.
Anyway, I wanted to scream "outrage." These @$#$s are really pushing the envelope. This is not our system of government. Their behavior is unprofessional in the extreme. They need to go back to civics class.
President Obama should not have to put up with this.
Cher
Baitball Blogger
(46,684 posts)Yes. Republicans break the law. Where government is involved, there is no law that will contain them. They respect nothing but their racist agenda to always stay on top by gaming the system where they can.
It's been this way in local government for the two decades that I have been observing their practices. And Thirdway Democrats that play along are not helping the matter.
PoliticAverse
(26,366 posts)If states have the legal option to not submit compliance plans (as you imply in your post) then they aren't breaking
the law by not doing so.
Scuba
(53,475 posts)onenote
(42,598 posts)It's not illegal for a state not to submit a compliance plan to the EPA, but it does trigger a consequence -- the imposition on the state of a plan developed by the EPA. By the way, the rules aren't in effect yet -- assuming they go into effect as scheduled, the due date for state to submit final plans (or initial plans with requests for an extension) will be in the summer of 2016 at earliest.
http://www2.epa.gov/carbon-pollution-standards/fact-sheet-clean-power-plan-carbon-pollution-standards-key-dates
The reality is that McConnell isn't really urging non-compliance with a mandatory requirement. He's urging that the states choose the option of not developing their own plans knowing that if enough states do that, it would overload the EPA with the burden of coming up with plans for the states.
spanone
(135,795 posts)Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)Scurrilous
(38,687 posts)That about sums it up.
Cha
(296,853 posts)turbinetree
(24,683 posts)were to ignore a law, we would be in jail, we could be charged under a number of laws and rules.
Just because he "thinks' he is leader does not give him the right to do harm to other people to violate the rules, thats not how it works no matter how his ALEC buddies think its so.
IMPEACHMENT should now be on the table, its time for a petition.
onenote
(42,598 posts)First, the rules are still in the proposal stage. They haven't been adopted.
Second, the proposed rules call on states to develop and submit plans for reducing the state's carbon footprint. But not submitting such a plan isn't a "violation of law" in that the rules simply provide that if a state doesn't submit a plan, then the EPA will develop a plan for the state.
Clearly, what McConnell is trying to do is slow down the implementation of rules he doesn't like by making the federal government develop plans that would be better developed by the states themselves.
If this sounds similar to what happened with state implementation of the ACA...well, it kind of is...
(And Senators can't be impeached).
FiveGoodMen
(20,018 posts)albino65
(484 posts)PADemD
(4,482 posts)In law, sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority to tend toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent (or resistance) to lawful authority.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedition
onenote
(42,598 posts)The proposed rules (which haven't been adopted) give states a choice -- submit plans for reducing the carbon footprint by a specific deadline (mid 2016 if the rules are adopted) OR don't submit a plan and have the EPA craft one for the state.
Obviously McConnell's game is to encourage states to toss this back to the EPA figuring it will overburden the EPA and implementation will be delayed until after judicial challenges to the rules are resolved.
So what McConnell is doing is urging states not to comply with an requirement that isn't mandatory. And that can't possibly be sedition (even if any of the other many reasons this isn't sedition didn't apply).
Marthe48
(16,904 posts)What the hell do these people not get about the environment? If they think there is really going to be a 'Rapture' I have my doubts that they'll be lucky enough to land on the winning side of that. They cut NASA/space exploration, so flying to a new planet is right out. Whoring doesn't work for the long term. Oh yes, and McConnell is a traitorous bastard and I hope he ends up spending his miserable life rotting some jail.
vlyons
(10,252 posts)Oh they know "theoretically" that one day they will die, but that's a long way off (or so they think). They also believe that the accumulation of money is such an overwhelmingly virtuous and noble endeavor that all other activities are insignificant in comparison. They don't give a rat's raw ass about anything but money. Yes even power, as wonderful as it feels to weild, is but a means to accumulating more money. These are the exact same types of people, the money grubbers, that Jesus drove from the temple in Jerusalem. The high priests in Jesus' time were the oligarchs, who kissed Roman ass to stay in control of the temple and collect taxes. Money money money money money. That's all that matters to them. You and me, our children and grandchildren, are just idiots to be exploited, cheated, and fear-mongered.
randr
(12,409 posts)increasing the wealth of the people who own them!
namastea42
(96 posts)What the hell is going on this is all so ridiculous. What is their end goal? Are they human?
red dog 1
(27,773 posts)No, shit-for-brains, YOU are "overreaching"..and you may have gone too far this time.
How long will this treasonous GOP bullshit be allowed go on?
Cha
(296,853 posts)greymattermom
(5,751 posts)All of the political ads in Kentucky are about coal. They will be losing a lot of jobs, and there's nothing to replace them. What's really needed are some manufacturing jobs in coal country, both east and west Kentucky.
riqster
(13,986 posts)A bit behind the times, aren't they?
markmyword
(180 posts)Finally the Obama Administration is standing up to these Republican Thugs!!
Call them out for what they are, bullies, thugs, intimidators, traitors, warmongers. Benedict Aronalds, anti-Americans, racists, anti-woman, anti-poor, anti-middle class, anti-science, anti-intelligence, Confederates who wish THEY won the Civil War, Etc. The list goes on and on.
The White House needs to hit them back right away and call them out for who they are. The bullies will as bullies, do back off!!
Keep the rhetoric strong and forceful and go for the jugular with these kinds of people!
It's TAKEN nearly SIX YEARS for the White House to fire back at these TRAITORS to this country.
The Republicans have put their party, their money, their greed and HATRED for this president over the good of their country and that's unforgiveable.
Breaking the law, is that what Mitch is trying to have governors do? Does that mean Jail Time?? Haven't members of the Occupy movement been arrested for less?
Keep that BACKBONE !!!