President Obama shelved a plan to tighten the Environmental Protection Agency's smog standards today, citing the need to lift regulations on America's struggling industries. While Republicans and business leaders had urged the president to withdraw the air quality rules, a range of environmental groups had pleaded with the president to remain firm. Spokespersons for groups like the League of Conservation Voters and Clean Air Watch were quick to issue rebuttals. To get a sense of how much this move is likely to irritate the left, take a look at the rage on these progressive and environmental blogs:
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What's wrong with Obama? asks Jess Zimmerman at environmental news site Grist:
Businesses argued that even thinking about beginning to maybe implement the initial stages of a pollution reduction strategy would kill the American economy, and evidently that worked. Gah! What is going on in this White House? Now we all have to hold our breaths, literally, until 2013.
It's an idiotic move, writes Stephen Lacey and Joe Romm at Think Progress:
The administration’s fecklessness is no doubt based on some crass political (mis)calculation.
There's a simple equation for this, writes Elgin at the progressive blog FireDogLake:
Obama = George Bush
Who is this man? asks Adam at Think Progress:
I wish we had candidate Obama in the White House. Someone replaced him with a corporatist doppelganger.
He's giving the mice cookies, writes commenter Hopeful at the progressive blog FireDogLake:
He honestly must think he has the North East and West coast sewn up. It will be interesting to see how much further this will push the Repugs to the right.
He's capitulating on everything, writes commenter Billhook at Grist:
This regime seems besotted with the strategy of appeasement.
The Tea Party wants to attack the EPA ? Well Obama can do that too. Social security ? Hack it. Immigration ? Investigate any person of color contacting the police (S.Comm).
The threat of progressives withholding their support has evidently only strengthened Obama's reliance on appeasement.
We need a credible climate-focused person to mount a successful primary challenge to Obama for the next election. We have no other option for a successful outcome.