As Dan wrote, Carly Fiorina was the star of the happy hour debate, and the only one who called for the repeal of President Obama’s disastrous EPA regulations (a.k.a Clean Power Plan), though she also said those weren’t the only policies she would repeal.
“I would begin by undoing a whole set of things that President Obama has done, whether it’s illegal amnesty, or this latest round of EPA regulations,” she said.
We have been debating–right here–the core difference between conservatism and progressivism. Conservatives, I am a conservative because I believe no one of us is any better than any other one of us. Every one of us is gifted by God, whether it’s those poor babies being picked over, or someone whose life is tangled in a web dependence. Progressives don’t believe that; they believe some are smarter than others; that some are better than others, so some are going to need to take care of others. That is the fight we have to have. And we have to undo a whole lot of things that President Obama has done that get at the heart of his disrespect and disregard for too many Americans.
Concerning the EPA regulations, they’re immensely expensive, place rural Americans and fixed-income seniors in the cross hairs–and will gut millions of jobs from black and Hispanic Americans.
The Wall Street Journal has called this “regulation without representation:”
Rarely do American Presidents display the raw willfulness that President Obama did Monday in rolling out his plan to reorganize the economy in the name of climate change. Without a vote in Congress or even much public debate, Mr. Obama is using his last 18 months to dictate U.S. energy choices for the next 20 or 30 years. This abuse of power is regulation without representation.The so-called Clean Power Plan commands states to cut carbon emissions by 32% (from 2005 levels) by 2030. This final mandate is 9% steeper than the draft the Environmental Protection Agency issued in June 2014. The damage to growth, consumer incomes and U.S. competitiveness will be immense—assuming the rule isn’t tossed by the courts or rescinded by the next Administration.