By William Warren
Environmentalists, global warming fanatics and Al Gore disciples are rejoicing this week upon hearing the news that Democrats have selected a new chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. In a 136 to 122 vote among House Democrats, California representative Henry Waxman of California narrowly beat out John Dingell of Michigan to take over his 28-year-held post on the ever-influential energy committee.
The following quote from the Christian Science Monitor explains the importance of Mr. Waxman’s new role:
“The vote places Waxman in charge of a panel with one of the broadest jurisdictions of any congressional committee, responsible for legislative oversight relating to consumer protection, food and drug safety, air quality, energy supply and transmission, telecommunications, and a host of other matters relating to interstate and foreign commerce.”
As the former Clinton energy adviser Joseph Romm giddily proclaimed:
“Heck, it’s the second best piece of news on global warming this month!”
Unfortunately for the American people—much more the entirety of American industry—the news of Mr. Waxman’s ascension is anything but reassuring. In fact, it’s equally as foreboding for businesses as Barack Obama’s election has been for the U.S. stock market.
Consider for a moment, Mr. Dingell, the man Mr. Waxman has replaced. As the Wall Street Journal describes:
“He was first elected in 1955 and has always tried to protect his hometown Detroit auto makers from the eco-mandates that ultimately helped to land them in their present predicament…He knows that carbon regulation and taxes will fall most heavily on domestic manufacturing and Midwest states that rely on coal-fired power. His sympathies lie with the people who work near (or in) factories and drive Fords or Chevys.”
The Dingell defenestration aptly symbolizes the Democrats’ freshly sworn allegiance to the radical, anti-business, green fringe of America. This is the same fringe which values “eco” over economy and plants over people—all, of course, under the pseudo-religious banner of “global warming.”
Under Mr. Waxman’s watch, we can expect a high priority to be placed on the kind of eco-regulations and carbon emissions caps that make businesses shudder and industries wane—without the waxing. This is especially troubling considering the significant number of individuals losing their jobs in the face of a struggling economy.
Moreover, Mr. Waxman comes from the most peripheral outlier state when it comes to downright absurd environmentalist legislation: California. These include the mandated “global warming score” sticker of shame to be slapped on every car produced and San Francisco’s blanket ban on fireplaces. Apparently, California would rather humans freeze than the earth to warm.
While we’re at it, why not put the military in the hands of Berkeley or Washington, D.C. in charge of education?
Nevertheless, America’s energy henhouse is now in the hands of the environmentalist fox. Meanwhile, the greens are hatching eggs of jubilee.
It won’t be soon, however, until the egg is on the Democrats’ faces whilst more and more Americans suffer under the rotten economy.
William Warren is a contributing editor of ALG News Bureau.
