Last updated on 2011.10.04
I used to be Rand Paul. I used to think that I could solve every policy debate by citing one or two fundamental, unshakable philosophical principles. Less Government! Less Regulation! I used to think I was a political genius.
Then, unlike Rand Paul, I grew up. I realized that the political bromides I was mouthing dodged dealing with the details of complicated practical problems. Such sloganeering under the guise of strict principle was not the pinnacle of political thought but an abdication thereof.
Perhaps unfortunately, I'm just a French teacher in Spearfish, daily corrupting the youth with verb conjugation, while Rand Paul is a United States Senator blocking vital and popular pipeline safety legislation:
A senator who opposes federal regulation on philosophical grounds is single-handedly blocking legislation that would strengthen safety rules for oil and gas pipelines, a bill that even the pipeline industry and companies in his own state support.
Republican Sen. Rand Paul's opposition to the bill hasn't wavered even after a gas pipeline rupture last week shook people awake in three counties in his home state of Kentucky.
Paul, a tea party ally who shares with his father, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, a desire to shrink the role of the federal government, won't discuss his role in stymieing the bill. But industry lobbyists, safety advocates and Senate aides said he is the only senator who is refusing to agree to procedures that would permit swift passage of the measure.
A deadly gas pipeline explosion near San Francisco last year — along with other recent gas explosions and oil pipeline spills — has created consensus in Congress, as well as in the industry, that there are gaps in federal safety regulations [Joan Lowy, "Senator Blocks Pipeline Safety Bill on Principle," AP via Yahoo News, 2011.09.27].
Senator Paul's "principle" absurdly assumes that any and all regulations are bad. That "principle" allows Senator Paul to avoid critically evaluating the regulatory proposals before to discern which are unnecessary and which promote the general welfare.
Deep critical thinking doesn't produce good sound bites. But it does produce good public policy. Let's hope Senator Paul's colleagues can convince him to do his duty, put genuine thought over meme mimicry, and vote for necessary pipeline safety regulations.
Moral of the story: Keep your wack-jobs out of the Senate. If they absolutely have to run for something, steer them towards the House of Representatives.
"a bill that even the pipeline industry and companies in his own state support"
There is the point that your intelligence from growing up has yet to comprehend. The monopolistic Big Business use regulations to keep the little guy out because they don't like competition. Big Government fosters Big Business. So why are you helping out the GOP establishment? Critically think that one out Cory.
Sibson's argument doesn't make sense in the real world. I suppose if everything involved "knowledge work" that didn't have any impact on anyone else, Sibson might have a point. But building a pipeline can have implications for the health and safety of many people. I don't care if its a big guy or a little guy building the pipeline, but I want to know it is built to pretty high specs.
The commercial insurance market will not insure the work of some "little guy" who can't demonstrate the ability to do the job. Commerical insurance companies want some sort of standard upon which to judge whether someone can or can not do a job. In some cases these are industry standards written by industry associations. In other cases there are government rules. If there was no standard, it would be difficult for any guy, little or otherwise, to obtain coverage that would allow them to do business.
Who wants a pipeline by their house that has not been constructed to meet any standard? Kabooom!!! Bye, Sibby
Donald,
Then explain why the Big Oil companies favor the regulation?
Steve, show me the small company that's going to build a 2000-mile pipeline. This regulation isn't about crowding out competition: as Donald says, it's about keeping all of us safe.
Part of the reason the industry likes this bill is that Congress would help set the rules instead of leaving it entirely to the Obama Administration's PHMSA.