How many Americans do you suppose sat back Sunday night or Monday morning when they heard about the death of Osama bin Laden and said "you know, this would be a great time to impose some onerous cap-and-trade legislation on the American people?" I imagine Al Gore probably thought that to himself but we haven't heard from him the past few days, other than having him compare climate change skeptics to so-called birthers.
So we figure former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson senses an opening in the Crazy Man Sweepstakes and he took a dive headfirst into the shallow end of the pool with this bit of nuttiness.
Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Ricahrdson hopes that Osama bin Laden's death will spur President Barack Obama to promote climate change legislation.
“My hope is that from this success in the foreign policy arena two days ago, that he will be emboldened to take once again to the Congress legislation — not just to increase a renewable energy standard — but climate change legislation that this country and the world need,” Richardson said Tuesday at a Climate Leadership Gala hosted by the Earth Day Network in Washington.
Ah yes, just what Americans are clamoring for. We sit at the gas pump paying $4 a gallon or more and think to ourselves "hey, I'm just not paying enough. Can someone please pass onerous legislation so my wallet could be even lighter?"
“We can sit back and say, ‘Well we’ll wait until the next election, wait until the political climate is better.’ You know if we do that, we’re doomed — if we don’t take action right away,” he said.
Actually, our economy would be doomed if Democrats do any more damage. It's not enough, apparently, that Americans are struggling with soaring gas and food prices. Some people actually think a death blow like cap-and-trade is somehow a good idea. Did Richardson pay even the slightest attention to last November's elections?
But like a good little Stalinist, Richardson says President Obama should just ignore the will of the people and impose it upon us anyway.
Richardson suggested Obama offer Congress two options: an economy-wide cap-and-trade program with stringent timetables over several decades and a carbon tax. And if Congress fails to do either of those, EPA must plow ahead with climate change regulations, he said.
Obama's enjoying a bump in his favorability these days. This is certainly one way to lose it. He can't be so stupid as to actually listen to Richardson, can he?
