The Supreme Court just handed down a ruling that has the potential to reshape the very future of the country. I’m not talking about SCOTUS overturning Roe vs. Wade. Nor am I talking about the Court shooting down New York’s concealed carry restrictions. Both of those are major rulings with huge implications. But they pale in comparison to the ruling that dropped yesterday on the EPA and CO2 regulations.
Basically, the Court ruled that federal regulatory agencies can’t implement sweeping changes in policy by their own volition. Major policy changes must originate in laws passed by the Congress, from which the agencies derive their authority. This is a monumental win for self-government and the rule of law. And a major set-back for the globalist left and the ever-expanding administrative state.
The left loves the Deep State… the vast army of career bureaucrats who occupy positions of (regulatory and administrative) power and are completely unaccountable to voters. Progressives believe that this legion or technocrats, or “experts”, should be able to set policy based on “the science” and their elite judgement about what is best for the common good. In contrast to letting the people decide for themselves through their elected representatives.
As I’ve noted before, progressives HATE the US Constitution despite paying lip service to it when it suits their ends. The Constitution was designed to limit the power of the Federal government while maximizing the liberty of the States, and the people, to the greatest extent possible. One of the primary means progressives have used to get around Constitutional limits is by creating a pseudo 4th branch of government in the administrative state. A branch they alone shape. A branch untouchable by voters or even opposition Executive administrations. It is hard to overstate the importance of the SCOTUS ruling against the EPA. It is a dagger thrust at the heart of the technocratic administrative apparatus and the progressive deep state. It strips technocratic “experts” of the power to shape policy, and returns it to the Congress where it belongs.
Obviously, the progressive left is totally freaking out.
The subject matter of the regulation here makes the Court’s intervention all the more troubling. Whatever else this Court may know about, it does not have a clue about how to address climate change. And let’s say the obvious: The stakes here are high. Yet the Court today prevents congressionally authorized agency action to curb power plants’ carbon dioxide emissions. The Court appoints itself—instead of Congress or the expert agency—the decisionmaker on climate policy. I cannot think of many things more frightening.
– Justice Elena Kagan in dissent
Kagan’s hysterical dissent is total non-sense. The Court did not appoint itself the decision maker on climate policy. They didn’t say what the policy should be, or limit what it could entail. The only thing the Court said is that the EPA could not wipe out an entire industry and reshape the American energy sector by fiat. The Court simply said such radical policy changes must originate in laws passed by the Congress.
Progressives hate this answer. They know their Green New Deal, and much of the rest of their agenda, is not popular with the American people. Building enough support to pass laws enacting them would be extraordinarily difficult. They would rather ram them down the peoples’ throats via unelected bureaucrats, while avoiding taking responsibility at the ballot box. Some decisions are just too important to be left to the rabble, they would argue.
This is a very good day for liberty in America. Seeing the continued downward slide of the country and it’s culture can be frustrating and depressing. Enjoy the victories when you can get them.