It looks like Attorney General Bill Schuette is in for an interesting day on Monday.
At 11 a.m., Schuette will take a pounding from the American Lung Association in Michigan when they hold a press conference on air pollution standards (explanation below).
Later that night, at 7 p.m., he will be the guest of honor at the Romeo Area Tea Party’s monthly meeting, where he is likely to receive a warm reception.
The tele-press conference by the Lung Association will present the other side of the story regarding air quality rules. In the current atmosphere, with the Republicans’ messages dominating, anti-regulation rhetoric is common and some of the GOP presidential candidates say they would go so far as to dismantle the Environmental Protection Agency.
The Lung Association will speak out against Schuette for taking the side of “big polluters” in litigation aimed at blocking the EPA from moving forward on updated standards to address “life-threatening pollution.” The ALA said that Schuette’s move will protect polluters and ignore, in particular, the health of Michigan’s children.
The press conference will be held by: Peter Iwanowicz, ALA assistant vice president; Jan Roberts, registered nurse and certified asthma educator; and Mary Scoblic, registered nurse and ALA in Michigan board member.
Schuette is targeted because the Midland Republican recently joined attorneys general in 24 other states who demand that the federal court prevent the EPA from enacting new air pollution standards. The EPA estimates that the additional regulations will “prevent serious illnesses and health problems for thousands of Americans, including: up to 17,000 premature deaths, 11,000 heart attacks, 120,000 asthma attacks, 12,200 hospital and emergency room visits, 4,500 cases of chronic bronchitis and 5.1 million restricted-activity days.”
The ALA points out that Schuette’s action comes as a report released by the Great Lakes Commission shows that mercury contamination in the Great Lakes (mostly generated by coal-burning power plants) is more widespread than originally thought, which means that advisories against eating Great Lakes fish may persist for many years.
Schuette’s office is sure to get a number of phone calls tomorrow questioning his response to the facts laid out by the Lung Association. It’s never good politics to make kids sick.
But the AG will certainly get a reprieve at the Romeo Area Tea Party gathering. If the subject of the EPA comes up, Schuette will undoubtedly stick to the script that says the agency is out of control with its “job-killing” regulations. And that will receive some cheers from the crowd.
While the RATA insists it is not a partisan organization, it’s interesting that they apparently used, word for word, a short biography provided by Schuette’s office in urging people to attend Monday’s event.
It seems that, as a congressman, he “restored respect for America around the world” — with the help of Ronald Reagan, of course.
And as a “strong, tough judge” on the state Court of Appeals he “protected our constitution from special interests.”
Here’s the flyer they are distributing online:
