"Just say no" strategy on the Clean Power Plan fizzles
By David Roberts, Vox Media.
Back in March, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell encouraged states to "just say no" to the Clean Power Plan. He meant that they should refuse to develop state plans to implement the rules, which would require all states to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their electricity sectors.
As a political gesture, it was petulant. As advice, it was ... a political gesture. What's remarkable is that McConnell got the media and the political class to take it seriously, at least for a while.
But now it seems that states are abandoning McConnell's strategy, having discovered that it is stupid. The signals are becoming ever clearer that although a notional partisan battle over the Clean Power Plan will continue, behind the scenes almost all states have resigned themselves to developing compliance plans. The reasons are simple: