Democrat Senator decries the EPA’s expansion of power
As I first wrote about here, new EPA regulations on greenhouse gasses have forced American Electric Power to order the shutdown of five coal-powered power plants. This news will help to facilitate–much to Barack Obama’s great pleasure–the “necessary skyrocketing” of energy prices that he promised during his campaign. American Electric Power is one of the largest utilities companies in the United States and if they cannot afford to comply with the new EPA regulations it is impossible to believe that the smaller energy companies will be able to comply. This is just the first of many such announcements.
In addition to the skyrocketing of energy prices Barack Obama also promised that he would bankrupt the coal industry when he became president and that is now underway with this news. Barack Obama identified an industry which he felt had no right to exist and the EPA has begun the process of eliminating that industry for him.
The effect of the EPA’s new regulations on AEP–and on energy companies in general–has drawn the ire of at least one Democrat Senator, Joe Manchin–whose state and constituents will be feeling the effects of this announcement. He believe the EPA is going too far:
“Let me be clear, it’s decisions like the one made by AEP today that demonstrate the urgent need to rein in government agencies like the EPA, preventing them from overstepping their bounds and imposing regulations that not only cost us good American jobs, but hurt our economy.
“It is because of out-of-control agencies like the EPA as well as the need to protect American jobs that I sponsored the REINS Act — a commonsense measure that will help protect and create jobs by reining in needless or burdensome regulations, and that will put responsibility back where it belongs – in the hands of the people who are elected to govern and lead this great nation,”
The backlash has started; I expect to hear Republicans come out against the EPA on this issue, so far their silence has been deafening, but it is great to hear a Democrat come out so strongly against the EPA on this issue. It is also good news that Senator Manchin is sponsoring legislation to rein in needless government regulation. But I would remind the Senator and all of those that voted for Barack Obama that this shouldn’t come as a surprise to them–he promised to increase the cost of energy and bankrupt the coal industry and he is doing it.
Perhaps they did not believe that Barack Obama was serious about this, but they have learned the hard way that Barack Obama wants to make it too expensive for ordinary Americans to afford to live the lifestyle they have been accustomed to living. The Obama regime wants to make people reliant on government transportation–Ray Lahood stated that he wanted to coerce people out of their cars–and the plan is coming together. But why is the Obama regime so adamant on the idea of separating people from their vehicles?
It must not be forgotten that the sixth plank of the communist manifesto is the nationalization of transportation. With the American people free to come and go whenever they want; with the freedom to travel where you want to when you want to comes the ultimate freedom. But when a people is reliant on the government and a government schedule to travel only to certain places at certain times as scheduled by the government comes the ultimate loss of freedom. In effect you can’t go anywhere of distance without government permission because you can’t get there if the government doesn’t go there. Is it coincidence that Barack Obama’s policies are designed to drive people toward public transportation? Is it coincidental that Ray Lahood wants to coerce people out of their cars?
I think not, I think that this is part of a larger plan to make people more reliant on the federal government. The time is now to stop these government usurpations of our freedoms. It is not the EPA alone which is expanding its power, this is happening within several government agencies and will result in the ultimate loss of free and responsible government.
We are living in an age where we are seeing government agencies grab more and more power; as already stated, the EPA is making a power grab on greenhouse gasses, looking to implement Barack Obama’s cap and trade policy through dictate because the president failed to pass legislation using constitutional procedures, we are seeing the FCC move on Net Neutrality to implement the president’s policy on the internet because his policy did not pass the Congress–even though a court has ruled the internet falls out of the jurisdiction of the FCC, and we are watching ICE and the DHS shut down websites which are involved in piracy and copyright infringement even though copyright infringement is in no way a matter of security or immigration.
The president is passing his agenda, only he is not passing it through the Congress, but rather through dictate, bypassing the Congress and using the expansion of power within government agencies to build a shield around himself and the constitution and the Congress had better do something about this soon or it will be too late. The Congress will be rendered a footnote in the history of the United States.
Senator Manchin is standing alone as I write this, I urge all of the Congress to get behind this man and pass legislation that will help to ensure that the Congress will still have a voice and the march toward Marxism is slowed.
America's Watchtower 
Spot on. The only ray of hope is that the public opinion seems to be turning.
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I think it is as well, I just hope that it isn’t too late to save the republic.
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If they can’t get us out of our cars by making energy unaffordable, they will get us into the cars THEY want us to have. I imagine the “car of the future” will be heavily subsidized (like the Volt) and come equipped with mandatory GPS – we will need permission to be “free.” Things we take for granted, like traveling “wastefully” without passengers, will become illegal. Mileage will be heavily taxed. Guys like us living in the sticks will pay the highest price.
In the meantime, developing countries will be passing us in the left lane!
But don’t be fooled by the current strictness of the EPA. They will back off as part of a “compromise” to get the much-desired phony cap and trade passed. It’s not enough just to have control over us – folks like Al Gore and Goldman Sachs need to turn a profit on that control.
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Yes, there are people that stand to profit from our loss of freedoms and that make this even more deplorable.
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A really excellent post, Steve. In 1992 I spent some weeks in Uzbekistan which had been a part of the Soviet Union and still had a communist dictator. I and my team were there to investigate the investment potential in mining for our employer, a US mining company. We were staying in the capital, Tashkent. every time our host was to take us to visit a mine, always many miles from Tashkent, a permit was required to travel outside of the city. This is typical of communist countries. This is what Obama and his fellow travelers want for us; one little step at a time. WAKE UP AMERICA!!!
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Thank you, it certainly does seem to appear as if we are headed toward dictatorship. I hope that we are wrong but I am losing hope every day.
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Please do not be fooled by Democrats picking out sections of Conservative thought to promote. Realize that these are last minute grabs to move to the middle and retain their offices. If reelected these “preelection Conservatives” will fall back in line with the Peoples Democrat Party. All these people need to be flushed from elected office and down the sewer of Communisim where they belong.
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So true, he may be coming out against this in order to get re-elected and may fall back online with the Democrats after he is re-elected. The only answer is to throw them all out.
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Manchin should know that if he supports big government, that same big government is going to bite him in the a** one day.
As for the limitations on transportation and freedom, that is a HUGE goal for the left. The sheeple shouldn’t be moving about as they please. They’re harder to control that way.
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The control over transportation is a huge goal of the Obama regime and it is not a coincidence that his energy policy requires Americans to be more reliant on the government, I hope that the people are waking up to this.
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Excellent post Steve and I ditto with a ‘thumbs up’ sentiments expressed so far. I know that I am preaching to the choir here but this is all just part of the Progressives 100+ year plan.
Like the proverbial Frog in the pot that is being cooked slowly, some of us are finally feeling the heat. Sadly a vast body of folk won’t feel it till they are cooked! I for one will not be cooked. It is time to strap the boots on and DO SOMETHING! to protect our FREEDOMS and wrest CONTROL from THE EVIL that surrounds U.S.
Be on the side of GOOD and fight EVIL without violence, but by using the God given Freedoms our Founders gave us.
Aloha From Sunny South Florida!
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Thank you! This is a slow plan and it has been in motion for many years. Norman Thomas said that Americans would accept socialism under the guise of liberalism one fragment at a time and that is exactly what is happening.
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Why is no one reporting this except a few of us bloggers? Yea, got it.
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The fact that this is not being reported in the MSM is journalistic malpractice and it is up to us to do the job the MSM is unwilling to do.
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Great post Steve. I too find and quite disturbing why the Republicans appear to be so silent on this issue. As for Manchin he did get elected as a conservative Democrat so maybe he’s dead serious about this. I do find it hard to believe the Republicans are going to allow this fly. After all the jig is up on cap and trade. People are starting to realize it is nothing more than a money scam. Even some on the left are not buying into it. The Republicans also know how destructive this policy is for our energy needs and the economy. Not a surprise this story is flying under the radar.
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Thank you, it is so frustrating that the Republicans are silent on this issue. Manchun is doing what a senator is supposed to do, protect and represent his state, I think he is being honest about this issue and I hope that people join him in support.
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Can we just ELIMINATE some of these over reaching departments? Just go to USA.gov and look at the number od departments and agencies. It is staggering. When are we going to say enough? Why are we giving them so much power? The silence by Republicans is not acceptable.
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It seems to ne as if the Congress could defund these agencies if they disagreed with what they are doinf, yet the Congress for the most part remains silent. It is time for the Republicans in the Congress to step up to the plate and do what is right.
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