League of Conservation Voters a “Radical” Organization? Yes Indeed, according to the RPV

Cross-posted fromhttp://bluevirginia.us/diary/10208/league-of-conservation-voters-a-radical-organization-yes-indeed-according-to-the-rpv">Blue Virginia

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According to the Republican Party of Virginia (RPV), protecting Virginia’s environment is a radically liberal thing to do, especially if it entails the Democratic Party gubernatorial candidate consulting with the League of Conservation Voters, that horrendous organization that has charged itself with conserving the natural beauty left in Virginia.

In its latest example of insanity, the Republican Party of Virginia “is reminding voters that Terry McAuliffe's experts at the anti-coal League of Conservation Voters have already praised the new regulations.” The regulations being referred to are those being enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), requiring new coal-burning power plants to limit the carbon dioxide that is released. According to the Republican Party of Virginia, the new coal-burning regulations will “kill jobs.”

But instead of throwing the full force of its rhetorical slime at Terry McAuliffe, the Republican Party of Virginia has settled for criticizing McAuliffe for being allies with the League of Conservation Voters, who has praised the new EPA regulations. For McAuliffe’s own part, he has said he’ll make a decision in the near future about whether to support the regulations or not.

Oftentimes I wonder whether or not the Republican Party has a secret (or not so secret) death wish for future generations of Americans and planetary inhabitants. I can’t quite wrap my head around the idea that a political party would be on the wrong side of just about every issue, not least of which is clean energy and global warming. Can Republicans read, do they care about anything or anyone but themselves?

No one that I’m aware of has argued that disrupting the coal industry’s workforce is an easy decision. These are individuals who have mouths to feed and mortgages to finance. But on the flip side of the coin is the fate of our entire planet. Yeah, it’s kind of a big deal.

If we continue down the road that King Coal has paved (with coal ash), life as we know it could be irrevocably disrupted. Unlike the fear that the Republican Party attempts to sow in the minds of Virginians and Americans, this consequence is very real and is getting more so by the day.

So while the Republican Party of Virginia continues to play games with the future of our planet, organizations like the League of Conservation Voters are trying to make sure that we have a planet to call home generations from now. If this is a “radical” thing to do, call me Karl Marx.