The next time you hear a politician vow: “The first thing I’m going to do if elected is get rid of the EPA,” know this, what he or she is really saying is “The first thing I’m going to do is slowly kill you.”
The right-wing attack on the environment–clean air, clean water, preserving national treasures–is an attack on every American’s right to breathe, as Shaun McKinnon’s impressive series on Arizona’s dirty air clearly shows. If you live in Phoenix, you don’t need any more evidence than looking out the window and seeing the dirty air that has made so many of us sick. But Phoenix is in a world of hurt because our right-wingers are so rabid, they equate the EPA with a commie plot.
And now you hear EVERY candidate for the Republican nomination for president shouting that they’ll destroy the EPA because they don’t like Washington telling states what to do and don’t like the EPA cracking down on polluters who just happen to be some of the biggest contributors to the Republican Party. Coincidence? I think not.
So the next time you think “politicians–it doesn’t make any difference,” think of this difference: The Republican assault on EPA is like a rifle aimed at our chests: it’s a life-threatening attack.