Squaring the Culture

Via Instapundit:

Expansive Executive power is a bad thing when wielded by a Republican for national security, but apparently a good thing when wielded in the name of controlling climate change.

A team of researchers at the University of Colorado worked full time for nearly six months to produce a report that explores the legal limits of Executive Orders by the President and lays out a blueprint for fast-tracking policies to force American industry to reduce its carbon footprint, without having to wait for legislation. Read about it here (Warning: EnviroLoon Territory).

The new report, “The Boundaries of Executive Authority: Using Executive Orders to Implement Climate Change Policy,” lists hundreds of executive orders — and the basis for each order’s authority — that could be used to combat global warming.

“We’re defining the playground in which the president can play,” said Alaine Ginocchio, lead author of the paper.

(Webmaster’s note: the quote block is from the original article, which appeared at http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/apr/05/fast-tracking-climate-policies/. However, that link no longer displays the article from which the quote was taken. My apologies.)

Any of us who recall the Clinton administration understand how Democrats really feel about Executive power. In stark contradistinction to their caterwauling over Bush administration national security measures, Democrats applauded as an out-of-control President Clinton not only filed Executive Orders that often directly contradicted specific acts of Congress, but bragged about doing it. From a Heritage Foundation review of the use and abuse of Executive Orders:

During the previous Administration, President Clinton proudly publicized his use of executive decrees in situations where he failed to achieve a legislative objective. Moreover, he repeatedly flaunted his executive order power to curry favor with narrow or partisan special interests…

A review of President Clinton’s directives also reveals some important departures from the practices of his two predecessors. This is particularly true of his use (and abuse) of powers under the Antiquities Act of 1906 and numerous directives issued in the areas of foreign and defense policy, environmental policy, regulatory review, labor policy, and civil rights. A disproportionate number of these executive directives were either illegal or issued in the furtherance of an improper policy or political objective.

Meanwhile, Dr. Roy Spencer, principal research scientist at the University of Alabama at Huntsville, provides a pithy review of the sloppiness of climate science research in the current politically-charged atmosphere. It’s worth a read.