Obama plans to avoid congress for global climate agreement

Obama plans to avoid congress for global climate agreement Scotty Starnes | November 29, 2010 at 4:23 PM | Tags: Barack Obama, climate change, Congress, global warming, green socialism, Jonathan Pershing, Obama, President Obama, spread the wealth, Todd Stern, U.N., United Nations, US Constitution, wealth redistribution | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/pvnFC-3DO

Just another story about Obama circumventing Congress to carry out his green socialism scheme. Yawn! Obama went around Congress when he appointed Dr. Donald Berwick to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and again when he appointed Elizabeth Warren as a "special advisor" of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Just another day of Obama trouncing on the U.S. Constitution.

Chris Horner reports, via The Daily Caller:

Sunday, as the Son-of-Copenhagen was about to kick off in Cancun to try and salvage a Kyoto II treaty, the Washington Post had yet another item, "Climate change talks face crucial test," noting that the administration's various ways of imposing global warming regulations include ignoring the Constitution's treaty process — a process alternately described by champions of this approach as "broken," as shown by the fact that Kyoto died in the Senate, or something never intended to apply to instruments as complex as Kyoto, once again proved by virtue of the fact that Kyoto died.

By this line of argument, you can see which document these people are more loyal to.

The following passage in the Post story is noteworthy:

However, U.S. special climate change envoy Todd Stern said the United States is standing firm on its pledge to reduce its emissions 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020 even without domestic legislation having passed…

In recent weeks, key officials have begun to question whether they can pursue a climate deal outside of the U.N. process if it sputters to a halt in Cancun, whether it's through global groupings such as the Group of 20 or the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, which brings together 17 major emitters for regular meetings.

Jonathan Pershing, Stern's deputy, told reporters Oct. 6, "The consequences of not having an agreement coming out of Cancun are things that we have to worry about. It doesn't mean that things may not happen; it may mean that we don't use this process exclusively as the way to move forward.

As Obama said after the electoral shellacking, "there are other ways to skin that cat." With more journalists regularly employing the traditionally uncommon phrase that Obama is now "halfway through his term," the clock to engineer the world the way the Obama administration wants does seem to be ticking.

What Stern and Pershing are hinting at is an "executive agreement" strategy. Among these instruments is something called a "Congressional-executive agreement," which is a treaty that the political class agrees to not call a treaty. Think NAFTA, where Congress voted to, in effect, waive Article II, Section 2 "advice and consent," vowing "fast-track" authority: a promise of an up-or-down, no amendment, no filibuster vote on whatever is negotiated and presented. The only opportunity to stop that pact is on the vote whether to grant fast-track.

Except that this is not a trade liberalization regime like NAFTA, but an energy rationing scheme that will provide direct wealth transfers from particular, new assessments on American industry and consumers. The drum-beat for this approach began in early 2008, with numerous publications advocating how the president could conclude bilateral agreements with foreign governments carrying the force of law yet never subjected to Congressional approval. If allowed, a web of these would effectively impose climate policy through the backdoor. I addressed this in some detail here and more fulsomely in an item for the Federalist Society's Engage here.

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