Then-Climate Czar Carol Browner oversaw the secret negotiations with the auto industry over these new global warming regulations. (She quietly resigned from the White House last year, just before her role in delaying Solyndra layoffs past the 2010 election was made public.)
Mary Nichols, the chair of the California Air Resources Board, was the other key player in a game of bad cop and really bad cop; basically, Browner told the auto industry that if it didn’t acquiesce to these new fuel economy rules, California would be given a free hand to impose its own, even more destructive regulations that — because many states have adopted California standards — would cripple the industry. Nichols told The New York Times that Browner “quietly orchestrated” the secret negotiations between the White House, regulators, and auto industry officials. “We put nothing in writing, ever,” Nichols said.
That was the first backroom shakedown. Yesterday’s rule is the result of a second round that followed closely on its heels, and at this rate the third round may be well underway.
Congress never voted for these absurd standards, which will drive vehicle prices through the roof for no meaningful environmental benefits.
Mitt Romney has an applause line in his stump speech about repealing ObamaCare. He should add another one promising to repeal ObamaCar.
Phil Kerpen is the president of American Commitment and the author of Democracy Denied.
