What An Ass

Today's EEI newsletter reports that:

Sen. Inhofe Introduces Bill Challenging Calif. to Clean Up Air Quality

Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, has taken what some perceived as a retaliatory step against California's passage of legislation to reduce GHGs by introducing legislation that would "crank up penalties for the nation's most polluted air regions," both of which are in California. Inhofe, who has taken the position that "manmade global warming" was a hoax, the Associated Press reported, said California's GHG plan was "feel-good legislation to appease liberal special interest groups."

Inhofe spokesman Matt Dempsey denied the accusations by Democrats and environmentalists that the bill was in retaliation to California's initiative, stating to the AP: "While this bill is not a response, it does expose the hypocrisy of their climate initiative. This bill will clean up real air pollution; it will save thousands of lives and result in tens of billions of dollars saved, unlike the California global warming bill." California is not mentioned in the bill, but it specifies areas that do not meet ozone and particulate matter standards, and the only two areas that are currently out of sync with federal requirements are the Los Angeles basin and San Joaquin Valley.

Wrote the AP: "The bill drew an angry response from Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who is in line to become the top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee next year." She was quoted as saying: "I can only conclude that this legislation is punishment for my state's groundbreaking, bipartisan global warming bill." And Frank O'Donnell, director of Clean Air Watch, called Inhofe's move "a political stunt by the Senate's biggest champion of big polluters."
Associated Press via Forbes.com , Sept. 8.

Mr. Ihhofe, karma, she is a bitch.