WEBCommentary(tm) - Why Do Liberals Feel Compelled To Apologize For Telling The Truth?

Al Armendariz, President Obama’s hand picked administrator for the EPA’s Region 6 office in Dallas, an academic with a radical environmentalist bent, has issued an apology. Previously, Armendariz had compared the EPA’s strategy of enforcement to terror campaigns conducted by the Romans. “It was kind of like how the Romans used to, you know, conquer villages in the Mediterranean. They'd go in to a little Turkish town somewhere, they'd find the first five guys they saw, and they'd crucify them.” The purpose was to make, “that town was really easy to manage for the next few years."

Armendariz, as if knowing how bad that sounded, then tried to hedge his words on the spot saying that even though the EPA’s policy, according to him, was to crucify random and innocent people, that the EPA would only do this against those breaking the law. "You make examples out of people who are in this case not complying with the law ...” he said. Of course, whether or not “the law” is scientifically or constitutionally sound or not is never broached. It is important to note however to “crucify” someone means to treat them “cruelly” and hence beyond what is reasonable or lawful.

Look, despite his attempted hedging, this is another example of a liberal saying what liberals believe when their handlers let them off their leashes. Armendariz tried to further walk back his comments further by saying in an apology that he “regrets” his “poor choice of words.” Note that he did not say that what he said is not what he believes. He only apologized for poorly choosing his words to properly express those beliefs. Liberals, as well as those who refuse to believe that liberals are really mean people who want to use the power of government to “crucify” their ideological opponents, may not agree. However, all we have to do is look at the facts.

Range Resources, a company that makes its money drilling for natural gas by the process of hydraulic fracturing was recently targeted by Armendariz and Obama's EPA. After an environmental activist rigged his spigot to his gas line and lit it on fire to claim that there was gas contamination from wells drilled by Range Resources, the EPA jumped on the case and began prosecuting. It is important to note that from the get go this case was obviously a fraud. Repeated reports by the State of Texas showed no contamination from Range Resources’ wells in the water table and the documentation of the event was so hysterical that anyone who knows anything about gas contamination in water knew that there was a scam afoot. But the EPA pushed forward with plans to “crucify” Range Resources anyway. However, Range Resources did not back down and fought the fraudulent charges being hurled against them. And they won the day. The fraud was completely exposed and the EPA, who had to know the fraud was a fraud to start with like everyone else did, dismissed its case. Not before costing Range Resources millions to defend itself however. You can bet that liberals like Armendariz seethed over having their wrists slapped.

But the liberal crucifixion of the oil and gas industry is not isolated to their attack on drillers like Range Resources. As gas prices are rising, onerous EPA regulations are squeezing the refining industry too. Refineries have been shutting down up and down the East Coast. Westville, NJ, Yorktown, PA, and other cities have watched as local refineries have been shuttered. The reason is that these refineries can no longer operate competitively thanks to heavy-handed regulations enforced by Obama’s EPA. These regulations have drained these refineries of dollars for so long that now that as alternative, and sometimes cheaper feedstocks are becoming available there is no money left for these refineries to retrofit their process and take advantage of them. These cities are losing hundreds of jobs over this crucifixion at the hand of the left.

Indeed, Armendariz’s words may have been poorly chosen from the standpoint that liberals do not like to let their actual beliefs and plans be known so bluntly. But the words were a true portrayal of the beliefs held by liberals none-the-less. So why apologize? Why not be bold and just admit that you meant what your said Mr. Armendariz?

J.J. Jackson is a libertarian conservative author from Pittsburgh, PA who has been writing and promoting individual liberty since 1993 and is President of Land of the Free Studios, Inc. He is the Pittsburgh Conservative Examiner for Examiner.com. He is also the owner of The Right Things - Conservative T-shirts & Gifts http://www.cafepress.com/rightthings. His weekly commentary along with exclusives not available anywhere else can be found at http://www.libertyreborn.com