The Administration Is Scared of Its Own Regulatory Shadow

[xchrom]

http://www.thenation.com/blog/167636/administration-scared-its-own-regulatory-shadow

You may have missed it, but the conservative media got all worked up last week over comments made by an Environmental Protection Agency administrator about “crucifying” oil companies. Senator James Inhofe—who claims to believe that only God, not oil companies run by mere mortals, can change the earth’s climate—released a years-old tape of EPA Region VI Administrator Al Armendariz talking about his regulatory philosophy. Here’s Armendariz’s quote as reported by most conservative, and alas, most mainstream news outlets:

'It was kind of like how the Romans used to, you know, conquer those villages in the Mediterranean. They’d go into a little Turkish town somewhere and they’d find the first five guys they say and they’d crucify them. And then, you know, that town was really easy to manage for the next few years.

So the Obama EPA is on a medieval campaign against business! (“The Obama Administration: Against water boarding terrorists but for crucifying American businesses,” tweeted RedState editor Erick Erickson with typical subtlety). “An EPA official appointed by President Obama,” announced Fox News host Bret Baier, “said that his philosophy, talking to other EPA folks, was like the Romans conquering villages, saying that oil companies should be crucified.”

Industry allies got in on the act, too. Phil Kerpen, who until very recently was the principal policy and legislative strategist for the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity, has a new gig running an outfit called “American Commitment,” which promptly launched a website called FireCrucifyAl.com. Users can submit letters to Congress and the administration calling for Armendariz’s job, because regulators should “[allow] businesses to succeed and expand. They shouldn’t crucify.”

[saras]

1. First, use the DOJ to clean out the active criminals. THEN use the EPA

[pscot]

2. So many pot smokers

so little time.