Supreme Court Freezes Obama’s Carbon Regulations

Yet again, President Obama has been thwarted by a little thing called the law. His administration’s Clean Power Plan, which opponents have called one of the most egregious expansions of federal power in the history of the United States, has been put on hold by the Supreme Court while a 27-state lawsuit against the regulations moves forward.

The Court, once again proving wrong John Roberts’ assertion that the Justices are not politically driven, decided to freeze the plan in a 5-4 decision. The liberal Justices maintained that they would not have put a halt to the regulations. Funny how the law can look so different depending on whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat. Surely just a coincidence.

The White House criticized the ruling in a statement by spokesman John Earnest, saying, “We disagree with the Supreme Court’s decision to stay the Clean Power Plan while litigation proceeds.”

Right, because it makes sense for states to begin spending untold amounts of money on compliance when the rules could be overturned this summer. The Obama administration wants state governments to get so heavily invested in the expenditures that it won’t matter whether or not the regulations are shot down in court. This was, indeed, the same approach they took to amnesty, hoping to get so far along in the process that it would be impossible for a court ruling to have any effect. Now, for the second time, their undemocratic plans have been ruined by justice.

Speaking for West Virginia, Attorney General Patrick Morrissey applauded the stay. “We are thrilled that the Supreme Court realized the rule’s immediate impact and froze its implementation, protecting workers and saving countless dollars as our fight against its legality continues,” he said.

The ruling does not mean that the CPP is finished, but the fact that they approved the freeze means the five affirming Justices must feel there is some merit to the case brought by the states.

Environmentalists, of course, are in a tizzy, worried that without these regulations, the U.S. won’t be able to live up to the carbon reduction aims of the Paris Agreement. They don’t seem to be even slightly bothered by the thousands of workers who could see their jobs go up in smoke or the economies that will suffer under this forced transition away from fossil fuels. Nor do they appear to be concerned about this president’s growing detachment from constitutional governance.

But to hell with them. It’s time for us to spend a little less of our efforts on polar bears and a little more on making our country – as one might say – great again.