Trump Picks EPA Head, Left Loses Mind

 

pruittMany conservatives were nervous when Donald and Ivanka summoned Al Gore to Trump Tower for a discussion on climate change. Any fears were put to rest Wednesday when his transition team chose Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to head the EPA.

Pruitt gained national attention by suing the EPA over burdensome regulations expected to harm Oklahoma businesses and residents. He challenged the agency’s radical rules on carbon emissions, cross-state air pollution, regional haze, and greenhouse gasses, which relied more on social justice than hard science.

If his legal record doesn’t hearten conservatives, the reaction by the left will. Lefties took to Twitter in a collective primal scream.

Enough with the “denier” smear. The fact is, everyone believes in climate change. But only progressives think it started 100 years ago.

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  1. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    Fred Cole:But maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Trump didn’t realize this guy’s reputation when he picked him. Maybe he bumbled into this appointment and unintentionally picked a guy who set off a crapstorm.

    Isn’t that all the more reason to pick someone else?

    Almost anyone is going to set off a crapstorm. When Washington State put I-732 on the ballot, fake environmentalists revealed themselves as fake environmentalists. I see no reason to pander to them. They don’t care about the environment; they care about government power.

    So if you put a good environmentalist in as head of the EPA; one who is really committed to protecting the environment, though through lawful means consistent with good government and separation of powers, that is going to set off a crapstorm.

    If you put in someone as head of the EPA who just wants to poke a stick in the eye of everything environmental, that is going to set off a crapstorm.

    I say what really matters is what kind of guy this is. If he is committed to environmental protection, all the lefts will oppose him, but some of those who are really committed to environmental protection will probably come around in due time.

    • #61
  2. Larry Koler Inactive
    Larry Koler
    @LarryKoler

    Bryan G. Stephens:

    Paul A. Rahe:With every passing day, it looks more and more as if Trump means business.

    Indeed.

    He has surpassed my expectations

    Let’s please drop this now. Paul is just like any one of us here. Perfection is not a requirement for participation.

    • #62
  3. David Wilder Thatcher
    David Wilder
    @DavidWilder

    Why is Nancy Pelosi worried about the “children’s sake” when she is busy working to get them all aborted.

    • #63
  4. Del Mar Dave Member
    Del Mar Dave
    @DelMarDave

    Kozak:I’m loving this more and more.

    I  second your motion.

    Maybe DJT might nominate for every position people who will generate the same amount of fear and vitriol.  And then he and Mitch McConnell could bundle them all up into one resolution and let the Dems (and any squishy RINOs) try to avoid responsibility for keeping the government from operating.

    • #64
  5. Larry Koler Inactive
    Larry Koler
    @LarryKoler

    Fred Cole:

    billy:

    Fred Cole:It’s gonna be a long four year if Trump keeps making appointments designed to troll people.

    Yes Mr. Cole, trolls can be tedious.

    @fredcole

    Well, look, it’s going to be a hell of a lot better for him politically, and for our country in terms of social cohesion, if Trump doesn’t intentionally troll people like this. If you want to appoint somebody to reign in the EPA, I’m all for it. But if you’re going to be the President of the whole nation, you’d do well, especially after this very contentious election cycle, and an electoral victory where he lost the popular vote, not to be intentionally antagonistic.

    Point of order: Trump did not lose the popular vote. We didn’t run that scenario so we don’t know if he would lose or not.

    • #65
  6. Israel P. Inactive
    Israel P.
    @IsraelP

    Jon Gabriel, Ed.: But only progressives think it started 100 years ago.

    … and that it is necessarily bad.

    • #66
  7. Israel P. Inactive
    Israel P.
    @IsraelP

    Hoyacon:

    KC Mulville:I don’t know; this sounds too good.

    If I had to surrender a pound of flesh to a Democrat liberal mob, just to give them a chance to save face, I’d probably nominate a guy that the Left hates, and then shrug my shoulders when he gets rejected. Then I’d pretend that I have no choice but to nominate a guy that the Left can live with – but who was my first choice all along.

    As I say, I have no proof, other than my Spider-sense is tingling …

    Mine too. This guy will be a lightening rod for all appointment-related criticism, and may take some heat off of other choices. That’s not a complaint; it’s rather shrewd, actually.

    “Scott, Donald Trump here. Listen, I want to appoint you to run the EPA, but it’s just a decoy. I’ll have to pull it.  But there will be a judgeship  later on. Thanks for being a team player.”

    • #67
  8. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    Aaron Miller:

    Paul A. Rahe:With every passing day, it looks more and more as if Trump means business.

    Agreed.

    Now, the question becomes: How many regulations can be eliminated — not just temporarily redefined or not enforced — without legislation?

    The federal hiring freeze will help, but attrition will be slower than we like (unless the agency head can make his employees miserable enough to quit). But Democrats will eventually regain the majority and repopulate these agencies with communists. Can an agency head on his own eliminate many powers so that his replacement cannot quickly undo his good work?

    We need to introduce separation of powers into the federal agencies that now have legislative, administrative, and judicial powers.  And the legislative power should require ratification of all regulations by Congress.  There is a reason the detail work of drawing up regulations is delegated to the agencies, but there is no reason Congress can’t keep for itself a power to ratify them before they go into effect.

    • #68
  9. Arjay Member
    Arjay
    @

    Trinity Waters:

    I’m going to invoke my new idea for responding to such impenetrable comments: I shun you.

    Fred Cole is why an “ignore”  function is needed.

    • #69
  10. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    Arjay:

    Trinity Waters:

    I’m going to invoke my new idea for responding to such impenetrable comments: I shun you.

    Fred Cole is why an “ignore” function is needed.

    No, it isn’t. (I presume you aren’t referring to the built-in ignore function we were all born with. )

    • #70
  11. Fred Cole Inactive
    Fred Cole
    @FredCole

    Larry Koler: Point of order: Trump did not lose the popular vote. We didn’t run that scenario so we don’t know if he would lose our not.

    I’m not sure I catch your meaning.

    • #71
  12. Larry3435 Inactive
    Larry3435
    @Larry3435

    Matt Upton:For sake of my political cliche bingo card, I’m glad Pelosi brought up the children. If someone could shoehorn ‘wrong side of history’ into their outrage tweet, I win a 2 for 1 coupon at Sizzler.

    I was sure my card would be a winner, but I came up empty.  I had racist, sexist, Islamophobe, xenophobe, and homophobe.  Really, that card should have won.  It’s the left’s entire vocabulary.

    • #72
  13. Hartmann von Aue Member
    Hartmann von Aue
    @HartmannvonAue

    Good choice. As for the benighted souls who think CO2 is a pollutant, they are invited to stop emitting it. From their lungs.

    • #73
  14. Hartmann von Aue Member
    Hartmann von Aue
    @HartmannvonAue

    Israel P.:

    Jon Gabriel, Ed.: But only progressives think it started 100 years ago.

    … and that it is necessarily bad.

    Exactly. Try telling a Russian or a Mongolian that warmer winters are a threat to mankind.

    • #74
  15. Larry3435 Inactive
    Larry3435
    @Larry3435

    Fred Cole:

    Larry Koler: Point of order: Trump did not lose the popular vote. We didn’t run that scenario so we don’t know if he would lose our not.

    I’m not sure I catch your meaning.

    I don’t know how many conservatives in NY and California don’t bother to vote because they know that their vote won’t count for anything, but I’m betting that it’s a lot.  No one knows what would have happened if the popular vote meant anything.  No one ever will.

    • #75
  16. Fred Cole Inactive
    Fred Cole
    @FredCole

    Larry3435:

    Fred Cole:

    Larry Koler: Point of order: Trump did not lose the popular vote. We didn’t run that scenario so we don’t know if he would lose our not.

    I’m not sure I catch your meaning.

    I don’t know how many conservatives in NY and California don’t bother to vote because they know that their vote won’t count for anything, but I’m betting that it’s a lot. No one knows what would have happened if the popular vote meant anything. No one ever will.

    I’m not sure I buy that anymore.  I think after the 2000 election, people realized the symbolic importance of the popular vote.

    Also, it cuts both ways.  If you’re a Democrat, there’s no point in voting in California, but 8.7 million people still turned out to vote for Clinton.

    • #76
  17. ConservativeFred Member
    ConservativeFred
    @

    So much winning.

    [Sarcasm On] But principled opposition would have been so much better.  [Sarcasm Off]

    • #77
  18. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    billy:

    Fred Cole:It’s gonna be a long four year if Trump keeps making appointments designed to troll people.

    Yes Mr. Cole, trolls can be tedious

    wish my mouth was not full when I read this, and I am glad my tablet is water resistant.

    • #78
  19. MichaelHenry Member
    MichaelHenry
    @MichaelHenry

    Well-written, interesting. Great title. Good job, Jon Gabriel Ed. BTW, I have never seen Ed as a last name. If you leave out your middle name, Gabriel, Jon Ed is a really efficient name. I guess your dad was Mr. Ed.

    • #79
  20. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    Fred Cole:

    Larry3435:

    Fred Cole:

    Larry Koler: Point of order: Trump did not lose the popular vote. We didn’t run that scenario so we don’t know if he would lose our not.

    I’m not sure I catch your meaning.

    I don’t know how many conservatives in NY and California don’t bother to vote because they know that their vote won’t count for anything, but I’m betting that it’s a lot. No one knows what would have happened if the popular vote meant anything. No one ever will.

    I’m not sure I buy that anymore. I think after the 2000 election, people realized the symbolic importance of the popular vote.

    Also, it cuts both ways. If you’re a Democrat, there’s no point in voting in California, but 8.7 million people still turned out to vote for Clinton.

    Never Trump has told me their votes have no effect, but lots of meaning. Therefore, their vote is only symbolic, but it did not matter. So the popular vote can’t matter, but it does have meaning.

    • #80
  21. Larry3435 Inactive
    Larry3435
    @Larry3435

    Bryan G. Stephens:

    Fred Cole:

    Larry3435:

    Fred Cole:

    Larry Koler: Point of order: Trump did not lose the popular vote. We didn’t run that scenario so we don’t know if he would lose our not.

    I’m not sure I catch your meaning.

    I don’t know how many conservatives in NY and California don’t bother to vote because they know that their vote won’t count for anything, but I’m betting that it’s a lot. No one knows what would have happened if the popular vote meant anything. No one ever will.

    I’m not sure I buy that anymore. I think after the 2000 election, people realized the symbolic importance of the popular vote.

    Also, it cuts both ways. If you’re a Democrat, there’s no point in voting in California, but 8.7 million people still turned out to vote for Clinton.

    Never Trump has told me their votes have no effect, but lots of meaning. Therefore, their vote is only symbolic, but it did not matter. So the popular vote can’t matter, but it does have meaning.

    My vote has meaning to me, but not to the outcome of the election.  I’m sure the popular vote has meaning to some people who want to console themselves because they lost, but it has no meaning to the nation.  No one knows who would have won if it was popular vote that controlled, and no one ever will.

    • #81
  22. EDISONPARKS Member
    EDISONPARKS
    @user_54742

    Fred Cole:

    billy:

    Fred Cole:It’s gonna be a long four year if Trump keeps making appointments designed to troll people.

    Yes Mr. Cole, trolls can be tedious.

    @fredcole

    Well, look, it’s going to be a hell of a lot better for him politically, and for our country in terms of social cohesion, if Trump doesn’t intentionally troll people like this. If you want to appoint somebody to reign in the EPA, I’m all for it. But if you’re going to be the President of the whole nation, you’d do well, especially after this very contentious election cycle, and an electoral victory where he lost the popular vote, not to be intentionally antagonistic.

    Just because the Left insists Scott Pruitt is Satan doesn’t make it so.

    The first step in taking on the Left and reversing their policies, is to dismiss or ignore the Lefty narrative.

    No matter what Trump does the Left will find it to be “worse than Hitler” so what’s the point of worrying about what the Left thinks.

    • #82
  23. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    Larry3435:

    Bryan G. Stephens:

    Fred Cole:

    Larry3435:

    Fred Cole:

    Larry Koler: Point of order: Trump did not lose the popular vote. We didn’t run that scenario so we don’t know if he would lose our not.

    I’m not sure I catch your meaning.

    I don’t know how many conservatives in NY and California don’t bother to vote because they know that their vote won’t count for anything, but I’m betting that it’s a lot. No one knows what would have happened if the popular vote meant anything. No one ever will.

    I’m not sure I buy that anymore. I think after the 2000 election, people realized the symbolic importance of the popular vote.

    Also, it cuts both ways. If you’re a Democrat, there’s no point in voting in California, but 8.7 million people still turned out to vote for Clinton.

    Never Trump has told me their votes have no effect, but lots of meaning. Therefore, their vote is only symbolic, but it did not matter. So the popular vote can’t matter, but it does have meaning.

    My vote has meaning to me, but not to the outcome of the election. I’m sure the popular vote has meaning to some people who want to console themselves because they lost, but it has no meaning to the nation. No one knows who would have won if it was popular vote that controlled, and no one ever will.

    I agree. My post was in response to an NT talking about the importance of Trump losing the popular vote. I agree with you the pop vote is meaningless.

    • #83
  24. EDISONPARKS Member
    EDISONPARKS
    @user_54742

    Bryan G. Stephens:

    Larry3435:

    Bryan G. Stephens:

    Fred Cole:

    Larry3435:

    Fred Cole:

    Larry Koler: Point of order: Trump did not lose the popular vote. We didn’t run that scenario so we don’t know if he would lose our not.

    I’m not sure I catch your meaning.

    I don’t know how many conservatives in NY and California don’t bother to vote because they know that their vote won’t count for anything, but I’m betting that it’s a lot. No one knows what would have happened if the popular vote meant anything. No one ever will.

    I’m not sure I buy that anymore. I think after the 2000 election, people realized the symbolic importance of the popular vote.

    Also, it cuts both ways. If you’re a Democrat, there’s no point in voting in California, but 8.7 million people still turned out to vote for Clinton.

    Never Trump has told me their votes have no effect, but lots of meaning. Therefore, their vote is only symbolic, but it did not matter. So the popular vote can’t matter, but it does have meaning.

    My vote has meaning to me, but not to the outcome of the election. I’m sure the popular vote has meaning to some people who want to console themselves because they lost, but it has no meaning to the nation. No one knows who would have won if it was popular vote that controlled, and no one ever will.

    I agree. My post was in response to an NT talking about the importance of Trump losing the popular vote. I agree with you the pop vote is meaningless.

    I always assumed the CA, NY, IL, NJ run up in the (D) popular vote and the low (R) turnout is due to the lack of Republican Campaign resources (ie: mostly advertising $$$) allocated to states the (R)’s know they will lose.

    If the popular vote mattered the Republican Campaign would certainly invest more resources to those states,  and while the (R)’s would still get their arhses kicked they would probably not lose by so much and thus the national popular vote would probably better reflect the Electoral College results.

    • #84
  25. Larry3435 Inactive
    Larry3435
    @Larry3435

    This whole popular vote meme is not only meaningless, it reflects a deep misunderstanding of what a Federalist Republic is all about.  The United States is not a direct democracy, and is not supposed to be one.  It is comprised of states, which are united for certain purposes but which are also supposed to have a say in how they are governed.  Anyone who wants California and New York to run a whole country should just support California and New York seceding and running themselves – not the whole rest of the country.  Actually, it isn’t even California and New York.  It’s Los Angeles and New York City.

    • #85
  26. Bob Thompson Member
    Bob Thompson
    @BobThompson

    Fred Cole:

    billy:

    Fred Cole:It’s gonna be a long four year if Trump keeps making appointments designed to troll people.

    Yes Mr. Cole, trolls can be tedious.

    @fredcole

    Well, look, it’s going to be a hell of a lot better for him politically, and for our country in terms of social cohesion, if Trump doesn’t intentionally troll people like this. If you want to appoint somebody to reign in the EPA, I’m all for it. But if you’re going to be the President of the whole nation, you’d do well, especially after this very contentious election cycle, and an electoral victory where he lost the popular vote, not to be intentionally antagonistic.

    The notion of national popular vote in a Presidential election under our Constitutional system has no meaning as a measure of winner and loser, so why don’t you just drop it.

    • #86
  27. Fred Cole Inactive
    Fred Cole
    @FredCole

    Bob Thompson: The notion of national popular vote in a Presidential election under our Constitutional system has no meaning as a measure of winner and loser, so why don’t you just drop it.

    Its not an irrelevant datum. Look, I’m not saying he didn’t win the election. I’m pro-EC.

    What I’m saying is: he didn’t win the popular vote, meaning that,yeah, he won the election.  But he doesn’t have much of a mandate. Therefore it behooves him to try to seek consensus, rather than poke people on the eye

     

    • #87
  28. Bob Thompson Member
    Bob Thompson
    @BobThompson

    Fred Cole:

    Bob Thompson: The notion of national popular vote in a Presidential election under our Constitutional system has no meaning as a measure of winner and loser, so why don’t you just drop it.

    Its not an irrelevant datum. Look, I’m not saying he didn’t win the election. I’m pro-EC.

    What I’m saying is: he didn’t win the popular vote, meaning that,yeah, he won the election. But he doesn’t have much of a mandate. Therefore it behooves him to try to seek consensus, rather than poke people on the eye

    Ok, Fred. Just drop saying who ‘won’, we all know about the summation of the votes across the ‘states’. Regarding consensus, this is usually reached by an examination of facts surrounding the particular issues and the mindless Left does not participate in such endeavors.

    • #88
  29. Instugator Thatcher
    Instugator
    @Instugator

    Fred Cole:

    Its not an irrelevant datum. Look, I’m not saying he didn’t win the election. I’m pro-EC.

    What I’m saying is: he didn’t win the popular vote, meaning that,yeah, he won the election. But he doesn’t have much of a mandate. Therefore it behooves him to try to seek consensus, rather than poke people on the eye

    He certainly does in the places that voted for him – and there are far more of those places than the places won by the Failed Presidential Candidate, Hillary Clinton.

    So no, he doesn’t have a mandate in Los Angeles County. But almost everywhere else – yes, he does.

    • #89
  30. ConservativeFred Member
    ConservativeFred
    @

    Bryan G. Stephens:

    billy:

    Fred Cole:It’s gonna be a long four year if Trump keeps making appointments designed to troll people.

    Yes Mr. Cole, trolls can be tedious

    wish my mouth was not full when I read this, and I am glad my tablet is water resistant.

    Is there an award for “Best Reply of the Year”?

    • #90
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