Not that I think Arnold Schwarzenegger is a Democrat or anything, but he, along with the full force of the statewide elected leadership, is pushing the EPA hard to allow the state’s greenhouse gas emission controls on vehicles to go forward.  The Supreme Court has already ruled that the EPA can regulate greenhouse gas emissions, yet the EPA is dragging its feet on giving permission to California and the other states lined up behind us.  Attorney General Jerry Brown was impassioned on this issue when meeting with regulators in Washington this week.

“This is more important than any issue that EPA’s going to have to face,” California Attorney General Jerry Brown told regulators who will recommend whether to give California the waiver it needs to implement its emissions law.

Brown asked the hearing panel to take a message to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson.

“We want him to speak truth to power,” said Brown. “There is a tremendous influence of the oil industry. We know (Vice President) Cheney and (President) Bush are oilmen, they think like oil folks. … We say grant the waiver.”

This would be the most sweeping law regulating vehicle emissions in our nation’s history (and it was passed in 2002, pre-Mr. Green Hummer, folks), and would lead to an 18% reduction in greenhouse gases in our atmosphere due to cars by 2020.

To his credit, Schwarzenegger (along with Brown) has vowed to sue the EPA if they don’t act on this by October.  And he and Connecticut’s Jodi Rell penned a strong op-ed in the Sunday Washington Post about the issue (on the flip):

It’s bad enough that the federal government has yet to take the threat of global warming seriously, but it borders on malfeasance for it to block the efforts of states such as California and Connecticut that are trying to protect the public’s health and welfare […]

Since transportation accounts for one-third of America’s greenhouse gas emissions, enacting these standards would be a huge step forward in our efforts to clean the environment and would show the rest of the world that our nation is serious about fighting global warming […]

By continuing to stonewall California’s request, the federal government is blocking the will of tens of millions of people in California, Connecticut and other states who want their government to take real action on global warming.

If this doesn’t happen, by the way, it’s because the President signed an executive order calling for federal agencies to “continue studying” global warming until the end of 2008 (hey, that coincides with the end of his term!), which may stall any action.  Though this is a partisan blog, I think we can all agree that this is a noble effort to get the EPA to do the job the Supreme Court told it to do just one month ago, and grant the permission under the Clean Air Act to let California regulate vehicles the way it demands.  The health of our planet is at stake, and we must see action on this soon. 

You can contact the EPA yourself here.

Two big endorsements have come out in the last week for the special election down south.  Sen. Jenny Oropeza walked away with the California Democratic Party endorsement, allowing her to say that she is officially endorsed by the CA Democratic Party.  It sounds good, but does not mean extra resources.  The bigger prize, that of the Los Angeles County Labor Federation goes to Assemblywoman Laura Richardson.

Like Steve Maviglo at CA Majority Report says, this means boots on the ground, especially useful in a low-turnout election like this one.  The Fed will get their phone banks working, labor members walking precincts and spend money to message their own members.  The LA Fed is a particularly strong one, in a very labor friendly area, making it a particularly plum endorsement.

Orepeza is chalking up the decision to her vote for the massive Indian gaming expansion compacts.  Labor has been in strong opposition and people were pretty surprised when she voted in favor.  As for the role of that vote in the endorsement decision:

Maria Elena Durazo, the executive secretary-treasurer of the County Fed, said the vote on the tribal compacts did come up in endorsement discussions, but that it was one of a number of issues.

“It was by no means the only reason or the driving reason,” she said.

H/T to The Liberal OC for catching this first! : )

After witnessing the damage inflicted on [Former Senator George] Allen by Democrat campaign staff, Markos Zuniga is serious. Democratic Party activists are to be armed with high-tech video equipment looking to preserve any visible or audible mistakes committed by Republicans during public speaking appearances (not just from stages and podiums, but presumably private conversations on public grounds).

That was San Bernardino County Republican Party staffer Adam Aleman on FlashReport today, warning all the poor little Republicans about the monster that is being unleashed by BIG, BAD MARKOS and all his blogger minions. Just look at how George Allen’s political career was destroyed by one innocent little “macaca moment“. Remember that he was supposed to be running for President by now?

So what is it about progressive bloggers that’s scaring the living daylight out of seasoned Republican insiders? Why are they so afraid of us? Follow me after the flip to find out…

So why are they afraid? Well, the infamous “macaca” video didn’t just contribute to George Allen’s loss of a Senate seat. It dashed the hopes of many right-wingers that a charming Southern politician could help them keep the White House in 2008.

Here’s some more from FlashReport:

George Allen is not campaigning for the White House in Des Moines, Manchester or anywhere else as a result of his surprise re-election loss last November. A loss that happened in large part due to Allen being the first major candidate to be “Youtubed.” A paid staff member of his upstart Democratic opponent videotaped Allen making derogatory statements that many perceived as racially insensitive. Senator Allen’s shocking defeat became THE case study of how the term “youtube” suddenly became a verb in political parlance. See the video that doomed Allen here.

How significant of a role did the amateur video by a Democratic Party operative play in Allen’s defeat? Well, consider this fact. George Allen was considered so safe for re-election that his initial campaign manager left Allen’s campaign to work on a race that was considered tougher. Allen was ranked as so secure in his Senate seat that he was already starting to visit early GOP presidential primary states in anticipation of an expected 2008 bid for the GOP presidential nomination.

Well, Allen’s unfortunate incident certainly put a crimp in his presidential plans for 2008, and quite possibly forever. And it clearly was a factor in his 2006 re-election loss to a political neophyte named Jim Webb.

I guess that’s why they’re afraid. If progressive bloggers can not only put this man in the Senate and destroy this man’s Presidential aspirations, but also end twelve years of Republican dominance of Capitol Hill, then just think of all the pain and suffering that Republicans may soon endure. Just think of the horror! The horror!

This man might lose his seat in Congress. And so might this man. And wait, this man might also go down in flames next year! And so might this man! Heck, maybe this woman isn’t even safe any more! What happens if Republicans lose more Congressional seats in California instead of taking back the one that they lost last year?

And with sites like this one and this one and this one popping up all the time, Republicans can never feel safe here. Oh yes, and they always need to watch out for this one and this one. Poor things. Who knew that accountability could be so scary? ; )