Environmentalists have known for years that America's dependence on foreign oil was problematic for the nation's foreign policy. It requires us to bow before OPEC; instead of being unconstrained, we're forced to make foreign policy decisions based on who has the the oil (i.e. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia), not who has real problems (i.e. Darfur).
This is why Obama's announcement yesterday that he would require the EPA to review Bush-era guidelines which prohibited California and other states from adopting auto emissions guidelines stricter than federal emissions standards is such a good move.
We need to applaud any move that increases our chances of becoming energy independent. In the end, America will save in lives and in treasure; we won't have to fight for oil and our energy dollars will go to domestic suppliers and spent in our domestic markets.
This move, ultimately requiring more stringent auto emissions standards will be difficult on the auto industry, but now is the right time. If you let the auto companies pick when they'll change their behavior, we'd never have seat belts, airbags or anti-lock brakes.
Besides pure common sense, another reason Republicans, like John Boehner need to support his policy, is their own ideological convictions. Traditionally, conservatives take a states-first mentality. They normally don't like the federal government dictating to the states. However, when Bush was doing it, they didn't mind. With Bush gone, the GOP should return to its conservative principals and support a move that puts states - and the country - first.
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