I always thought Democrats were the bona fide tree-huggers, but recent events make me think Republicans are the real green freaks. Or perhaps they are just the ones with common sense.
First, liberal Democrats passed the ObamaCare law that forced Republicans to kill tree after tree in order to read the 2,000-page bill and carry around paper mountains to show-and-tell events like press conferences and health care summits.
Speaker Pelosi would likely respond that Republicans are to blame for all the tree-killing, for why would they read the bill when they could just pass it to find out what’s in it? Touché, Nancy!
Even worse, included in the law is a new burdensome reporting requirement that will force an estimated 40 million businesses to file an average of 200 additional 1099 forms. I can almost hear the chainsaws swinging away at the nearby forest; at least the lumberyard will be busy!
Second, the Obama administration’s Justice Department is blocking universities from using Kindles, arguing that their use discriminates against blind people, who can’t use them. Never mind the fact that the National Federation of the Blind supports the use of Kindles and is opposed to the Justice Department’s ruling. Doesn’t the Obama administration realize how many trees the devices could save?
On these occasions, Republicans have been the ones fighting for the forests, an almighty interest group indeed, while the Democrats have ushered in an unprecedented era of tree-killing.
In all honesty, does anyone think the amount of trees killed drove either side’s position? Not a chance.
But these are two hypocritical events for a party — the Democratic Party — that prides itself on hugging trees, wasting billions on “green jobs” that never materialize, and preventing the warming of an earth that never warmed.
What’s more important is what drove the GOP’s positions on these issues: common sense.
It is common sense that 2,000-page bills discourage representatives from reading and carefully analyzing them. We know this to be true from the blatant admission of countless congressmen and senators that they did not read a bill that fundamentally transforms one-sixth of our economy.
American citizens deserve better.
It is common sense that we shouldn’t burden businesses with unnecessary reporting requirements that will force them to shift more of their limited time and resources from productive activities to unproductive ones. In many cases, businesses will have to fire productive workers in order to hire unproductive paper-pushers.
American workers and job-creators deserve better.
It is common sense that we shouldn’t prevent the utilization of innovative technologies that reduce the cost of education.
American families deserve better.
Lately it sure seems that Republicans are the true tree-huggers. They certainly have more common sense.
Alex Cortes is the Chairman of the newly-created Restore the Dream Foundation whose first project, DeFundIt.org, is advocating for the de-funding of the health care reform law.