The Emergency This Time

Word is that the Zhou regime, having been stiffed by Joe Manchin once again, is “considering” turning to the National Emergencies Act to declare a “National Climat Emergency”. Before we turn to that consideration specifically, I want to reference a very on point article that appeared this morning at American Thinker. You may take issue with some of the side issues raised, but the author, Steve McCann, does a great job of sketching out the overall context of the entire Zhou regime:

The Left’s Blackmailing of Biden has Unleashed National Chaos, Stagflation and Systemic Uncertainty

McCann begins by sketching out the process by which the ruling elites presented the government with an aging and clearly dysfunctional Zhou as the new occupant of the WH. The key to that process was a cave to the hard left, as the only means to circumvent Bernie and remove the Orange Man:

In July of 2020 Biden signed on to a unity platform with Bernie Sanders that would seal his fate. He could never deviate from it and he would have to agree to any and all further demands for fear of being not only exposed but abandoned by the American Marxists, which would end his life-long narcissistic ambition to be another Franklin Roosevelt.  Among the commitments made and kept in the unity platform:

• The repeal, by executive order, of all of Trump’s border policies including the stoppage of the wall construction, the elimination of the “Remain in Mexico” policy, a moratorium of deportations, and an immigration reform package that includes amnesty and a path to citizenship.  In essence an open and uncontrolled border to allow millions to pour in illegally and enter the electorate.

• The elimination of fossil fuels by 2030.  Using executive orders: to stop the construction of new pipelines, to curtail leases on public lands, to force financial institutions to stop investing in fossil fuel companies and to promote limitless government investment in so-called “renewable energy” and impractical electric vehicles.

• Unlimited spending on new and existing social programs, which included housing, infrastructure, welfare, as well as the left-wing’s wish list of funding for left-wing non-government organizations and unions, the nationalization of K thru 12 education, the elimination of charter schools and private school vouchers, and higher taxes on business and the nebulously defined wealthy.

Once these commitments were made and Biden elected, the left’s radical cultural and societal agenda was presented to Biden as a fait accompli.  As he did with keeping the commitments in the unity platform, Biden has dutifully promoted the censorship of speech, unlimited abortion rights, universal gun control and the entirety of the LGBTQIA+ agenda.  

Additionally, he backed proposed legislation to set-up a national voting regime that would eliminate the role of the individual states in holding elections.  He eagerly signed legislation demanded by the left resulting in over $3 trillion dollars in new spending, thus greatly exacerbating inflation.  And he instructed the Justice Department to unethically prosecute political adversaries and denigrate as well as threaten the Supreme Court.

The Green New Deal is at the heart of the entire package, and it will get nowhere except through the “pen and phone” wheeze. But note that the entire scheme of the left—to scrap our constitutional order of a federal system that incorporates separation of powers and checks and balances—was challenged by the SCOTUS just this term. By overturning Roe the Court reasserted the authority of the states and the centrality of the federal system. By rejecting the pretensions of the EPA the Court reaffirmed that the Legislative Branch must pass laws—delegations of power to executive agencies will be closely examined.

David Harsanyi considers the ploy under consideration and explains that The real emergency is that we have a lawless party in power. And in so doing Harsanyi points out that this ploy would come less than a month after those two landmark cases. Did someone not get the news?

The Washington Post reported Monday night that President Joe Biden is “considering declaring a national climate emergency” to “salvage his environmental agenda in the wake of stalled talks on Capitol Hill.” ...

There’s no “It’s Summer” clause in the Constitution, empowering the president to ignore the will of Congress and unilaterally govern when it gets hot. The rejection of the president’s “agenda” by the lawmaking branch of government isn’t a justification for executive action, it’s the opposite. The Senate has unambiguously declined to implement Biden’s climate plan.

Though you have to marvel at the utter shamelessness of Democrats, incessantly warning that “democracy” is on the precipice of extinction, now urging the president to act like a petty dictator. It’s been less than a month since the Supreme Court rejected the Environmental Protection Agency’s claim that bureaucrats could govern without Congress to regulate carbon (which is to say, the entire economy). What makes anyone believe that the president—who, incidentally, just got back from begging Saudi theocrats to pump more oil—is imbued with the power to enact a new regulatory regime or funding by fiat?

We now have senators like Jeff Merkley, who told reporters on Monday that Biden’s emergency edict “unchains the president from waiting for Congress to act,” openly undermining their oath to the Constitution by attacking the institution they represent. Congress may have spent decades abdicating its responsibilities—which, despite conventional wisdom, isn’t to rubber stamp the Democrats’ agenda—but its members rarely advocated openly for executive abuse. I guess they’re evolving.

Bloomberg reports that a emergency declaration would “unlock” the president’s power to “redirect federal funding to clean-energy construction.” When Donald Trump enacted an emergency declaration to reallocate funding earmarked for military projects to build a wall on the U.S. Southern border—“a clear attempt to circumvent the legislative branch and one that I hope leads to the Supreme Court overturning the abused National Emergencies Act,” I wrote at the time, so save your emails—the entire establishment melted down. “Declaring a National Emergency Could Give Trump Authoritarian Powers,” a columnist at New York claimed. “A Win For Trump’s Authoritarian Agenda,” wrote another in Forbes. And so on. It’s worth remembering the border is within the purview of the federal government. Trying to control the weather is not.

I have to believe that the SCOTUS understood that their two decisions would be challenged. I expect a National Climate Emergency will be challenged in court, and that it will face a stiff challenge. There has to be an end to this, and the right approach is for the SCOTUS to toss the Emergencies Act entirely. If it doesn’t, there will be no end to crises.

For a slightly different take:

Biden Now Considering Climate Move That Will Devastate Country