by Greg Heller, The Holy Cause
“Obama Moves to Let States Set Own Rules on Emissions”
So says The Wall Street Journal:
President Barack Obama plans to call on the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday to consider allowing states including California to regulate automobile greenhouse-gas emissions, said people familiar with the administration’s thinking.
The move will signal a major policy break from his predecessor on an issue that has divided key Democratic Party constituencies …
… Mr. Obama’s plans were described to The Wall Street Journal by three people familiar with the administration’s thinking, including one administration official. Mr. Obama was expected to outline his plans in directives to the agencies to be released at a White House event Monday.
As I previously discussed, this is not necessarily as it seems.
Neither Bush nor Obama demonstrates a belief in states rights in this case. Bush showed his colors by enforcing federal standards against state wishes. Obama will do the same, but with one exception – states can have laws which are more totalitarian than the federal ones.
Imagine what would happen if the State of Idaho, for example, wanted to adopt a standard which was “lower” than the federal standards. Do you think Obama, Bush, or almost anyone in Washington would be willing to go along with that?
The truth is that virtually nobody in Washington believes in the 10th amendment [States Rights] anymore. They feel they can, and therefore rightfully should, regulate pretty much anything they feel like regulating.