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EPA, Texas go to war over carbon-emission rules (What can a state do if it loses in court?)
Hotair ^ | 12/26/2010 | Ed Morrisey

Posted on 12/27/2010 12:41:21 PM PST by SeekAndFind

And so it begins, and on the most fertile red-state territory in the nation. Texas, which got four more seats in the House through the 2010 Census reapportionment, has had its air-quality rules superceded by the EPA as part of its aggressive new action on carbon emissions. Governor Rick Perry promises a fight:

The federal Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday effectively declared Texas unfit to regulate its owngreenhouse gas emissions and took over carbon dioxide permitting of any new or expanding industrial facilities starting Jan. 2.

The EPA also set up a framework for regulating greenhouse gas emissions in seven other states: Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Oregon and Wyoming. In addition, the agency set a timetable on establishing regulated levels of greenhouse gas emissions.

The action will give the EPA permitting authority over refineries, power plants and cement facilities in Texas, the agency said, but will not affect small pollution source facilities, such as restaurants and farms.

Well, perhaps not directly, but the increase in energy prices and shortages created by the EPA imposition of what will essentially be carbon taxes will impact businesses throughout the Texas economy, as well as consumers who ultimately pay the costs of the regulatory regime. Rick Perry has signaled a court fight to stop the EPA and the Obama administration:

Texas is the only state that has refused to implement the new rules. President Barack Obama is pressing ahead with the regulations after Congress failed to pass legislation capping carbon emissions. Perry, a Republican, calls the rules overreaching by the federal government that will cripple his state’s economy.

“The EPA’s misguided plan paints a huge target on the backs of Texas agriculture and energy producers by implementing unnecessary, burdensome mandates on our state’s energy sector, threatening hundreds of thousands of Texas jobs and imposing increased living costs on Texas families,” Katherine Cesinger, a Perry spokeswoman, said in an e-mailed statement.

The timing is certainly interesting. The EPA made this move two days before Christmas, when most people had stopped paying attention to political news. The EPA’s move thus got missed by most of the national media, even though it demonstrates well the Obama strategy in 2011 to win through regulation what it could not win through legislation. And by focusing on Texas, where Republicans have a chance to redistrict with practically no interference from Democrats, the move will certainly incentivize the GOP to limit as much as possible the representation of Democrats in their Congressional delegation as the Republican-controlled House attempts to stymie the EPA’s regulatory innovation.

This also will vault Rick Perry to the highest level of national politics, even as he continues to insist that he won’t run for President. With a third term as governor in hand and a perfect political battle opening in front of him, though, the opportunity may be too much to resist for a man who could possibly unite conservatives and the GOP for a big run against a stumbling Obama in 2012.


TOPICS: Breaking News; Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: 10thamendment; capandtax; carbonemission; carbontrade; democrats; destroytheepa; donttreadonme; envirofascism; environment; epa; globalwarming; globalwarminghoax; obama; statesrights; teapartyrebellion; texas; tyranny
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To: The Comedian
That leaves room for you IIIa threat vest and *both* shoulder holsters inside the shirt.

LMAO!

81 posted on 12/27/2010 2:37:46 PM PST by houeto (Government derives its just powers from the consent of the governed.)
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To: Jim Robinson

Perry has his warts. Who doesn’t?

If I were to wait for a candidate who fits my views 100%.. I’d still be waiting.

The cool thing about Perry is that HE LISTENS.

He DROPS crap we don’t like.

In a field of mediocre choices, he’s far better than most.


82 posted on 12/27/2010 2:41:06 PM PST by humblegunner (Blogger Overlord)
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To: Lancey Howard
...“three coequal branches of government”,...

The branches are not "coequal", the Legislative Branch has the most power, but it is distributed among 535 legislators, which makes it difficult to bring that power to bear on the other branches.

With sufficient motivation, the Legislative Branch can remove anyone from office within the other 2 branches.

83 posted on 12/27/2010 2:41:39 PM PST by 3niner (When Obama succeeds, America fails.)
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To: Spktyr

Damn right we are angry.

I think Texas is the sleeping giant.

I decided last week to order the SECEDE sticker. I am starting to see more and more of them around town.

I would love to see a real showdown between us and the feds. The fact is they need us more than we “need” them.


84 posted on 12/27/2010 2:42:13 PM PST by Clump (the tree of liberty is withering like a stricken fig tree)
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To: TV Dinners

Then watch as Texas splits from the union and takes over all that oil off shore. Then watch as Oklahoma, Arizona, and a host of others follow.

What will this administration do? NOTHING!


85 posted on 12/27/2010 2:43:14 PM PST by crz
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To: bill1952
The President can order the Texas National Guard to take the governor into custody and the Federal courts can handcuff the Texas legislature as well.

Some might call that casus belli or the 150th Anniversary observance of the Battle of Fort Sumter. If a handfull of illiterate ragheads in Afghanistan can stymie the US Military, imagine what pissed off Texans with some serious firepower could do.

Remember, Texas has a coast and a well established and efficient multi-billion dollar international smuggling infrastructure.

86 posted on 12/27/2010 2:47:00 PM PST by The Theophilus
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To: Jim 0216
cessation

I think you mean secession. As in, "the Southern states seceded from the Union."

87 posted on 12/27/2010 2:48:56 PM PST by Windflier (To anger a conservative, tell him a lie. To anger a liberal, tell him the truth.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Time to pull out the Gonzales flag.


88 posted on 12/27/2010 2:50:43 PM PST by SouthTexas (A Merry and Blessed Christmas to All!)
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To: SeekAndFind
Looks like Rick Perry has gotten a few more pages in to reading the book "Conservatism for Dummies". Up until recently Mr. Guardasil/Trans-Texas Corridor Land Grab/Buddy of Al Gore/Former Democrat did not know what a conservative was. I doubt he still does but there is one thing Rick Perry does understand. He will be needing some kind of employement and he really has no skillset other than running for some office.

Perry will be running for president. No question about that. Why? Because he sees a situation that is very familiar to him. The classic douche bag running against a turd sandwich. Which exactly desribes all of Perry's campaign for gov. Perry has always been the lesser of two evils/morons. So going up against Obama is right up Perry;s alley. It is what Perry is best at. He is a weakling looking to go up against someone weaker. Or dumber.

Any Texan that has followed Perry knows that all his new found conservatism is just another act on Perry's part. It is not him. He is a CINO. Big time! There is a reason that George W. Bush and Dick Cheney have been known to call Perry by the nickname they used when referring to Perry - "The Dumbass". Perry is not that sharp but he is sharp enough to see that Obama may be road kill. And that is why Perry is starting to circle. Perry and his handlers are also savvy enough to know that a lot of people outside of Texas will see what Perry is doing here and think he is a conservative. Warning folks for other states! Perry is not a conservative. He is an opportunist. That is it.

89 posted on 12/27/2010 2:54:57 PM PST by isthisnickcool (Sharia? No thanks.)
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To: Windflier

Yes, so secession from the Union would cause a cessation of federal govenment abuses in Texas. Something like that.


90 posted on 12/27/2010 2:56:17 PM PST by Jim W N
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To: Lancey Howard; SeekAndFind
That's easy. The governor - - if he has the guts - - can thank the court for weighing in and then do whatever is in the best interests of his state so long as he does not violate the provisions of the US Constitution, which enumerates certain, specific, limited powers to the federal government. Everything else, you see, is left to the states.

What it gets down to is that penalties only work if people co-operate in paying them.

If they get *fined*, refuse to pay it. Push the issue. If enough people refuse to go along with it, it will render them impotent and everyone will see it. It will encourage others to do the same.

We need to break the mindset that has been drilled into us that the feds have the right to tell us what to do and that the states are subservient to it.

91 posted on 12/27/2010 2:57:20 PM PST by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: SeekAndFind

bflr


92 posted on 12/27/2010 3:04:50 PM PST by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: SuperLuminal
With high probability, in the end, when the fight gets bloody, RINO’s always surrender...

That is why the corrupt "Two-Party Cartel" exist - to fool the sheeple into believing that they are on their side. When they fail us they move on & the sheeple vote them back in. It's a great gig if you can get it. Of course, it's gonna cost you millions for a small 6 figure job.

93 posted on 12/27/2010 3:12:47 PM PST by newfrpr04 (Don)
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To: SouthTexas
Time to pull out the Gonzales flag.

You bet it is.


94 posted on 12/27/2010 3:14:42 PM PST by Windflier (To anger a conservative, tell him a lie. To anger a liberal, tell him the truth.)
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To: Jim 0216
Yes, so secession from the Union would cause a cessation of federal govenment abuses in Texas. Something like that.

Works for me.

95 posted on 12/27/2010 3:16:55 PM PST by Windflier (To anger a conservative, tell him a lie. To anger a liberal, tell him the truth.)
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To: Arrowhead1952; basil

Big doin’s ping and bump.


96 posted on 12/27/2010 3:21:11 PM PST by txhurl (This Is Not America.)
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To: RightOnline
If Texas pushes this as a Constitutional challenge in court, the EPA gets their heads handed to ‘em.

Not sure about that. I could see it being a 6-3 or 5-4 decision based on some of the pukes in the SC.

97 posted on 12/27/2010 3:23:10 PM PST by plain talk
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To: lonevoice

Hmmm . . . this on the heels of a report that half of the climate scientists now agree that we are quite possibly in the early stages of a 20-30 year mini ice age. Could be the EPA and Obama Administration are pushing these regulations before the public gets wind of the truth.


98 posted on 12/27/2010 3:32:49 PM PST by Pride in the USA
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To: SeekAndFind

In January call all the environmental chiefs into the House and start raking them over the coals and threaten to cut off all their funds!


99 posted on 12/27/2010 3:33:45 PM PST by tallyhoe
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To: newfrpr04

The sole purpose of the Republican Party is to serve as an ineffective alternative to the Democrat Party.


100 posted on 12/27/2010 3:35:44 PM PST by GourmetDan (Eccl 10:2 - The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.)
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