No Connection

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_021810/content/01125106.guest.html

“Don't you realize that this is nothing more than in a roundabout way of getting cap-and-trade legislation and get the Republicans to sign on to it? This is nothing more than a trick. There aren't going to be any new nuclear power plants. The government's going to be loaning money. The government doesn't know how to build anything. It's going to take years and years and years for regulatory approval. Obama's own base is gonna stop 'em. Obama's own base is gonna oppose it. It ain't ever going to happen. But he's going to get a lot of praise: "He's coming around, no more windmills, no more solar panels, Obama is going nuclear." It's a lie. Everything they say is a lie”

The world that Rush Limbaugh lives in is a strange and demented one. He is a true partisan hack. Only someone with a dislike towards Obama as strong as Rush has would see a proposal to build nuclear power plants as a front to bring in cap-and-trade. How does this even make any sense? Where’s the connection between nuclear power and cap-and-trade? One is a form of energy the other is a system to pay for credits and reduce carbon emissions. I’m a supporter of both nuclear power and cap-and-trade (though I would prefer a free market system over a government mandated one) but, this is just ridiculous. I don’t disagree with the assertion that the government will be unable to build the plants, we had this same issue in Ontario with government plans to build a new power plant being suspended. The point here though, is that Rush is drawing connections where none exist. Look, I get it, government can be highly incompetent and we shouldn’t be too optimistic about the prospects of a nuclear power plant getting up and running anytime soon. Notwithstanding that however, putting forward ideas that border on the thought of a conspiracy is not part of an intelligent debate.