In between rounds of golf and waging a domestic war on the Chamber of Commerce and FoxNews, President Obama doesn't have the time or courage to make a decision on troops levels in Afghanistan...
But none of that has stopped the Obama Administration from waging an all-out war on America's coal industry:
While campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination, Barack Obama said his cap-and-trade tax plans would "bankrupt" anyone building a coal-fired power plant. Although those taxes haven't materialized, the Environmental Protection Agency has put the brakes on 79 surface mining permits in four states since he was elected.
Mr. Obama's opposition to coal has been apparent since January 2008 when he told the San Francisco Chronicle he would clamp down on miners by enacting a cap-and-trade system that would make it too expensive to stay in business. "So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can," he said at the time. "It's just that it will bankrupt them because they're going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being emitted."Although his favored cap-and-trade bill hasn't yet been passed, West Virginia's Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin III, who supported Mr. Obama's candidacy, called the EPA moves part of a stealth campaign to stifle the industry.
"Right now, my belief is that they're trying to kill off surface mining through regulation what they cannot get done through legislation," Mr. Manchin told MetroNews Talkline, a West Virginia call-in radio program, earlier this month. In West Virginia, 23 permits are being held up, with other affected states being Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee.
Source: Washington Times via HotAir
In addition to being a blatantly vicious attack on America's energy sector, this is a huge tactical blunder for Obama and his bureaucratic fail-bots:
ObamaCare has its difficulties with moderate Democrats, but this creates another layer of difficulty for the White House. ObamaCare would probably pass narrowly in the Senate if it could get past a cloture vote, which is why Harry Reid has threatened reconciliation to avoid the procedural hurdle. Cap-and-trade may wind up not having 50 votes in the Senate, thanks to the EPA and the economy-killing approach the Obama administration is taking on coal.
Source: HotAir
This guy's disdain for American businesses is matched only by his utter incompetence. Scary and pathetic... Check out this video where then-Senator Obama promises to destroy the coal industry:
