Don't Nuke the Senate Filibuster!

Health insurance premiums, both individual and employer-sponsored, have more than doubled since the passage of the Affordable Care Act. Today, Americans continue to face the heavy burden of high health care costs, partly because Republicans previously promised to repeal the law but failed to follow through when they regained power.Now, eight years later, Republicans face a similar challenge with the Biden administration’s Green New Deal. If they do not fully repeal it, the rising costs of energy will follow the trajectory of health care expenses.When it comes to dismantling sweeping socialist programs enacted by Democratic presidents, we rarely get second chances.Immediate conservative action is crucial. Lobbyists, donors, and trade associations close to Republican officials seem intent on preserving the key aspects of the law. Goldman Sachs reports that, without statutory caps on tax credits, subsidies for inefficient energy sources under the inaptly named Inflation Reduction Act could reach $1.2 trillion by 2032. Although much of this funding remains unspent, conservatives need to take swift action to rescind the law before it accelerates the shift from reliable energy sources to unworkable alternatives.One might expect the oil and gas industry to strongly oppose these subsidies. Yet, like many sectors in today’s venture socialist environment, they find ways to profit from government interventions. Their approach is, “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.” Similar to how they benefited from trading credits tied to the ethanol mandate — ultimately convincing Donald Trump to maintain the mandate — they are now seeking gains from the complex and costly carbon capture program established by the new law.The Wall Street Journal reports that Exxon Mobil, Phillips 66, and Occidental Petroleum are negotiating with the Trump campaign to preserve subsidies that serve their interests. They fear losing tax credits crucial for their investments in renewable fuels, carbon capture, and hydrogen — expensive technologies that require U.S. support during their initial stages.Driven by regulations, subsidies, and a shift toward green energy, Exxon and Chevron have invested over $30 billion in carbon capture, hydrogen, and biofuels. Meanwhile, Phillips 66 aims to leverage “renewable fuels” credits to increase vegetable oil production — an ingredient now widely considered harmful to humans — over refining crude oil.“If we win, we need to take a scalpel, not an ax, to the IRA,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), a liberal Republican from an energy-producing state.In August, 18 House Republicans sent a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) urging that the GOP maintain “the energy tax regime,” which includes substantial subsidies for impractical energy sources. This followed announcements from the Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute that they would oppose any efforts to fully dismantle the Biden-Harris administration’s green energy policies.For those who remember the fight over Obamacare, this situation feels like déjà vu. Republican special interests aim to preserve the core elements of the controversial law while seeking more flexibility to produce oil and gas by removing drilling taxes and regulations. The issue is that with substantial funding backing these inefficient energy forms, resource misallocation will continue to push the risky “transition” and hurt consumers.Trump must remain as bold as he is clear in advocating for the complete repeal of all subsidies. His stance should be: “No headwinds and no tailwinds to any single industry.” In a low-regulation, non-subsidized environment, industries that can adapt and succeed will thrive, ultimately benefiting consumers. There remains ample opportunity for companies to profit under policies that support the development of oil and gas pipelines, LNG terminals, oil refineries, and a revival of coal production.After decades of subsidizing and mandating “renewable” fuels, it’s time to stop treating this rent-seeking scheme as an emerging industry. Instead, we should demand that it prove its worth on a level playing field. If wind, solar, electric vehicles, and carbon capture can thrive without special treatment, then great — let them.However, if we continue subsidizing failure, it will only result in shifting our national grid to less reliable sources, which won't support us during natural disasters. This issue will be compounded by the government’s push for electric vehicles. Building an electric grid dependent on weak energy sources while increasing demand for EVs is a recipe for disaster. All these subsidies must end.Imagine facing hurricane season, power restoration, and disaster recovery with a grid and vehicles powered by energy sources that wouldn’t survive in a fair market. Compare Florida's swift power restoration after hurricanes to Texas’ struggle during the 2021 winter grid failure. The $66 billion that Texas, a state under Republican control, spent on wind and solar left it reliant on a grid that couldn’t withstand a cold snap, leading to 200 deaths.Mario Loyola of the Heritage Foundation noted in the Wall Street Journal that among the five largest states, Florida relies most on natural gas, despite having no natural gas reserves. By contrast, California, Texas, New York, and Pennsylvania have ample reserves but choose to rely on expensive, inefficient, and undependable energy sources.As a result, “Compared with Florida, residential electricity is 27% more expensive in Pennsylvania, 60% more expensive in New York, and 137% more expensive in California. Even pro-energy, GOP-controlled Texas has higher electricity costs than Florida, partly due to its large renewable energy sector, which increases operational costs and complexity.”If we fail to repeal the Green New Deal subsidies, our entire country will mirror New York and California’s energy landscape. We cannot repeat the mistake made with Obamacare. We need to dismantle this law in its early stages before it gains “popularity” and changes the market forever.Republicans should use budget reconciliation, which bypasses the Senate filibuster, to fully repeal the Inflation Reduction Act. This effort requires a firm commitment from Trump, starting with appointing a pro-consumer leader to oversee the Departments of Energy, Interior, and the EPA — not pro-subsidy, anti-carbon figures like North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who is seeking one of those roles.When it comes to dismantling sweeping socialist programs enacted by Democratic presidents, we rarely get second chances. There are no do-overs. This is one opportunity we cannot afford to miss.

The professor who was caught on video calling for male voters to be shot if they refused to support Vice President Kamala Harris has been fired from his job at the University of Kansas. Video of Dr. Phil Lowcock joking about executing male voters quickly went viral on Wednesday. 'Did I say that? Scratch that from the recording. I don't want the deans hearing that I said that.' "Guys are smarter than girls. You got some serious problems. It's what frustrates me," said Lowcock in a classroom full of college students. "There are gonna be some males in our society that will refuse to vote for a potential female president because they don't think females are smart enough to be president," he added. "We can line all those guys up and shoot them. They clearly don't understand the way the world works. Did I say that? Scratch that from the recording. I don't want the deans hearing that I said that." Lowcock was immediately placed on administrative leave by the university, but two days later, it said he had been terminated. The university said administrators were “working to identify a new instructor to assume the responsibility for his classes, and we are working with the students impacted by this change.” Republican Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas had called for Lowcock's termination, and he welcomed the decision. "I am glad to report that the professor who called for men to be 'lined up and shot,' declaring open season on people who don’t plan to vote for Kamala Harris, ?? ?? ?????? ?? ???????? ?? ??," he posted on social media. The university initially released a statement claiming that the professor was merely trying to support women's rights when he said male voters should be lined up and executed. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

TAMPA, Fla. — The Gulf Coast, central, and some eastern parts of Florida are once again in recovery mode after Hurricane Milton made landfall late Wednesday night. While the damage has been extensive, it was not total, as many had feared, since Milton did not make landfall into Tampa Bay.Throughout the week before Milton made landfall, officials from Governor Ron DeSantis (R) on down warned that while they were hoping for the hurricane to weaken from a Category 5, they were still expecting it to be a historically strong storm because the models had been having a hard time predicting what would happen.With that in mind, here is what some of the state had in place, ready respond once the storm had passed:over 6,500 Florida National Guardsmen;nearly 200 Florida State Guardsmen;hundreds of land, air, and water vehicles to support the FNG and FSG;the Florida Department of Law Enforcement directing 500 out-of-state law enforcement officers;over 100 Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers;Florida Highway Patrol escorting fuel trucks to replenish depleted gas stations;over 50,000 linemen to restore power; andthe Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office fielding 23 urban search-and-rescue teams and 10 swift water teams.DeSantis made it clear that while the federal government and the Federal Emergency Management Agency were assisting the state in preparing for Hurricane Milton, his administration was the one running the show.It took nearly a week for President Joe Biden to approve active-duty troops.That is not to say the recovery from two hurricanes in a short time will be easy. There were over 10 deaths, and hundreds of people still needed to be rescued. However, the assets and infrastructure were in place to take immediate action once it was safe to do so.The same could not be said in North Carolina when Hurricane Helene hit the western part of the state. This is not to say that North Carolina did not prepare at all for the massive flooding. In fact, there were multiple warnings about the danger ahead of Helene's rains. Shortly before Helene impacted his state, Governor Roy Cooper (D) found time to talk to the New York Times about "how North Carolina is fighting climate change at NYT Climate Forward."What Blaze Media found on the ground there, however, is that there were not nearly enough assets in place to respond to cut-off communities in the mountains, which is why private organizations, volunteers, and locals were often the primary first responders the first few days. While government agencies have been around to aid North Carolina, there simply were not enough to meet the demand, despite the warnings that this was going to be a significant storm for the region.It was clear the state and federal government were playing catch-up.It took nearly a week for President Joe Biden to approve active-duty troops to help the 1,000 North Carolina National Guardsmen who were overwhelmed with calls for help. What has made recovery efforts in western North Carolina more difficult is the fact the roads that go up the mountains were washed out for miles. Sometimes there is also no place for a helicopter to land.Flooding in the North Carolina mountains, while rare, is not without precedent. A hurricane that first hit South Carolina and then went north flooded Asheville and the surrounding areas in July 1916. Over 80 people died, and millions of dollars' worth of damage was caused by the storm.More recently, the Asheville area saw significant flooding in 2004 from Tropical Storms Ivan and Frances.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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