If you don’t know who Scott Pruitt is, then simply imagine Trump tracking down the most incompetent corrupt anti-environmental climate-change-denying candidate possible and appointing him to run the US Environmental Protection Agency.
You might perhaps consider that to be a politically-motivated exaggeration. Sadly it is not, it is a quite literal fact-based observation.
- Incompetent and anti-environmental – He has actually obliterated clean power and clean water rules, relaxed emissions standards, etc…
- Corrupt – Abuse of public funds
- Climate Denial – In the face of the overwhelming evidence via his own staff he rejects the scientific consensus and denies that any such consensus actually exists.
Mother Jones reports a piece of great news …
A coalition of 10 progressive and environmental groups are launching a campaign Wednesday saying President Donald Trump’s EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt needs to go. The campaign, which is spearheaded by the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Green Latinos, Defend Our Future, Hip Hop Caucus, and others, includes many of the groups that have been out front protesting Pruitt and the Trump administration. Now they will collectively target Pruitt by launching ads, a petition, a website (BootPruitt.com), op-eds, and other actions, as part of the first coordinated effort to oust the administrator since he was confirmed by the Senate more than a year ago.
Evidence
They have a strong case.
The BootPruitt website lays out the details …
PRUITT’S DIRTY DEALINGS HAVE REAL AND DAMAGING CONSEQUENCES FOR CHILDREN, SENIORS AND FAMILIES.
- As EPA chief, Pruitt has continued the use of chlorpyrifos, a pesticide that has long-term harmful effects on children. And he recently said his agency is shutting down “children centers” which study the deadly impact toxic chemicals have on kids.
- When he was Oklahoma attorney general, Pruitt attacked lifesaving measures against dangerous mercury pollution, industrial methane pollution from the oil and gas companies, carbon pollution and other toxic substances.
- He’s ignored how pollution disproportionately impacts communities of color and vulnerable communities that surround power plants and major industrial facilities.
- Under Pruitt, the EPA has brought far fewer enforcement cases against polluters than previous administrations — about one-third fewer than the number under President Barack Obama’s first EPA director and about one-quarter fewer than under President George W. Bush’s over the same time period.
- Pruitt is spending millions of taxpayer dollars to keep himself insulated from public input, he’s cutting enforcement, gutting climate science, and rolling back lifesaving climate and health protections.
PRUITT IS WORKING FOR INDUSTRY AT THE EXPENSE OF OUR HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT.
- He primarily meets with big corporations and takes actions on their behalf.
- Pruitt is under investigation for misusing taxpayer dollars for frequent trips to Oklahoma – spending 43 days over a 3 month time period. Recent reports indicate he has state-wide political interests in Oklahoma.
- He’s given top jobs to friends – including a disgraced banker who had been banned from the banking industry for life for repeated ethical violations – while sidelining scientists at the EPA.
PRUITT IS ABUSING TAXPAYER FUNDS FOR LUXURY TRAVEL.
- He wasted $120,000 of taxpayer funds on a trip to Italy last summer – where he had time to take a pasta-making class and a private tour of the Vatican, but not enough time to stay for the duration of the conference he was there to attend.
- He misused tens of thousands of dollars to fly first class.
PRUITT IS FACING FOUR SEPARATE INVESTIGATIONS FOR MISUSING TAXPAYER MONEY AND ILLEGALLY LOBBYING.
- He is under investigation for illegally lobbying on behalf of the mining industry while employed as a public servant.
- He is under investigation for misusing taxpayer dollars to install a $43,000 secret phone booth in his office.
- He is under investigation for misusing taxpayers’ money for private flights and first class airfare.
- He is under investigation for appointing scientists and EPA employees with conflicts of interests.
Will he be removed?
Let’s be realistic, only Trump can actually remove him, and right now that is highly improbable.
The need for such a campaign is obvious …
“When you see people who are struggling with clean water, it’s really just hard to fathom we have somebody in charge of the EPA who pushes for the polluters at the expense of our community, at the expense of our environment, and our health,” – Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr., president of the Hip Hop Caucus, a progressive advocacy group involved in the effort.
… and so they are pledged to continue …
“This is a campaign that will continue until Administrator Pruitt decides to return to Oklahoma on his own or the White House asks him to,”
Trump f##ked Stormy once, but via the appointment of incompetent corrupt buffoons such as Pruitt and a refusal to remove him even when the evidence piles up, Trump is in effect f##king his supporters each and every single day, because none of what is happening is in their best interests.
Further Reading
Mother Jones – Scott Pruitt’s “Dirty Dealings” Stir a Campaign to Oust Him From the EPA
Washington Post – Enough is enough. Scott Pruitt needs to go.
The Hill – Greens launch campaign to get Pruitt fired
Washington Post – The Energy 202: EPA chief fires back on flight costs as #BootPruitt campaign revs up
Boot Pruitt Press Release – LEADING ENVIRONMENTAL AND PROGRESSIVE ORGANIZATIONS LAUNCH “BOOT PRUITT” CAMPAIGN