Republicans learned to pursue environmental deregulation quietly to avoid public backlash

Evidence

First, the Republican Party has steadfastly avoided including a major reform of environmental laws as any part of its overt political agenda. Republicans have strategically sought to deemphasize their policy differences with Democrats on environmental issues. They have sought, in short, to avoid any repetition of the political mistakes they made with sweeping rhetoric during both the early Reagan years and the initial celebration of the Contract with America a decade later. They are, in effect, heeding Senator John McCain’s advice that more regulatory reform can be achieved by using the “scalpel of reform” rather than the “meat ax of repeal.” — Richard J. Lazarus, The Making of Environmental Law, 1086

Categorization

• XREF: Pays off ch17’s claim that anti-regulation rhetoric backfired by confirming public fears; shows the strategic lesson learned. — connects to: States stepped in to fill the federal environmental-regulatory void after Kyoto withdrawal — Richard J. Lazarus, The Making of Environmental Law, 1095; Regulated industries shifted campaign money toward Republicans as environmental law polarized. — Richard J. Lazarus, The Making of Environmental Law, 689; Past environmental-group counterattacks worked because they had an opposing government branch to rally against — Richard J. Lazarus, The Making of Environmental Law, 1084

Broader Connections

• Past environmental-group counterattacks worked because they had an opposing government branch to rally against #corroborates (0.75) — Richard J. Lazarus, The Making of Environmental Law, 1084