Turning the Clock Back

An aol-care blogger recently wrote that she couldn't believe we were again talking about fighting for clean air and water.  Republican politicians, always on the lookout for ways to help their corporate sponsors, have been making loud noises about cutting funds for the EPA.  The average Republican voter (including manyTea-Partiers) is in favor of funding but for most of them this is not a core issue that will cause them to cast their vote for the Democrats.  Same is true of independents...even though they may strongly support the EPA, this is not the issue that will tip the scales toward the Democrats.

Make no mistake about it - if the Republicans take the White House and/or the Senate in 2012, there will be a severe rollback in the funds for the EPA.  We lost eight years in the fight to reduce carbon emissions in the Bush years.  The country and the world cannot afford the further weakening of environmental laws that will occur if the Republicans prevail.

Rick Perry, the latest Republican 2012 presidential wunderkind, won his first state-wide office when he opposed Democrat Jim Hightower as Texas Agriculture Commissioner.  Evidently the Republican right-wing thought Hightower had been too aggressive in asking for visible warnings against pesticide sprayings that would alert workers and citizens when pesticides were being applied to Texas farms so that they could take appropriate protective measures.  That was years ago...but in case you think he's changed check out this youtube video where he denies global warming is a result of human activity. 

Well, he's also questioned evolution as a theory that "has a few holes in it".  Hey - maybe Perry and Bachmann can out-nut each other, split the extremist vote and then a moderate Republican (i.e., Romney) can win the Republican presidential nomination.  But don't hold your breath now - you may have to after the 2012 elections.  Perry has huge corporate backing and massively wealthy individual donors.  He has never lost an election.  Then again he's been nowhere but Texas and we saw what that great state served up the last time they sent their governor to the White House.