Fascinating report on business lobby efforts to scramble as quickly as possible to get the government to improve new rules designed to let them pollute more, and screw over workers and consumers more, in advance of what they expect will be a new Democratic administration. They're also beefing up on the number of Democratic lobbyists in their employ. I'm hoping someone's making a list of these new regulatory initiatives to make sure whoever secures the GOP nomination (though it looks increasingly like none of the candidates could possibly win) needs to take ownership of this sort of muck.
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Before the Fall
02 Dec 2007 03:47 am
Comments (5)
I should like to make a proposal. I propose that people in The United States and Internationally start planning for the BIGGEST, and I mean the Biggest celebration EVER when (and if) this train wreck of an administration is finally GONE. Begin planning now.
One stipulation: wait to hold the celebrations until after Jan 20, 2009. Hold them after election day may provoke some sort of brainless response from the BA everyone would regret.
"and screw over workers and"
Are these the same workers whose wages are always being held down by the massive illegal immigration that Matt doesn't care to do anything about?
The most interesting part of that whole article -- by far -- was mentioned by Kevin Drum ( http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2007_12/012616.php ):
"...When the Bush administration took over in 2001 it unilaterally froze nearly all of Bill Clinton's last-minute regulatory changes, eventually changing or killing about 20% of them. But the next president won't be able to do that: 'Whoever becomes the next president, Democrat or Republican, will find that it is not so easy to make immediate and sweeping changes. The Supreme Court has held that a new president cannot arbitrarily revoke final regulations that already have the force of law. To undo such rules, a new administration must provide a compelling justification and go through a formal rule-making process, which can take months or years.' "
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Obvious questions: Does Congress have the power to change that ruling that the next President can't reverse Bush's regulatory rulings for years? And will the Senate Republicans filibuster any attempt to do so? Probable answer: "yes" to both questions.
I guess that the progressives who praise the economic wisdom of the Clinton Administration have already forgotten that the most important thing that the Clinton Administration did from 1995 to 2000 was that it did little. American Business probably had its longest stretch in modern history of no new government programs or no massive changes in regulations.
I guess what the U.S. has to look forward to is a return to changing the rule books every year so that no long term plans can be made.
Comments closed December 16, 2007.
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Heads in the Sand
I think you are getting a bit overconfident. What about the dread Huckabee ? Charming, loved by the press, manages to present himself as a social conservative but egalitarian (with a tax proposal which would shift the burden down the income distribution beyond the wildest dreams of Reagan and Bush). Charming, loved by the press, never flip flopped.
How are we going to stop him ? Noting his main policy proposal is insane ? That's always true about Republicans and never works. Noting that he lobbied for the release of a rapist who went on to rape again and murder ? Hey IOKIYR. He talks to God on his cell phone and this cell phone detesting atheist thinks its witty. The man is dangerous.
Waaay back in 2006 people younger than about 50 couldn't believe that the Democrats were actually going to win one, since we had never seen such an event. Now I think that really young people such as yourself are underestimating the chance that the Democrats will find a way to lose this one. I said this about a post at Ezra's place only to be informed (by Ezra in person) that the post was by Stephen who is an actual father.
Posted by Robert Waldmann | December 2, 2007 7:51 AM