Susan Dudley is typical of George Bush’s nomination of anti regulatory and anti environmental zealots to head important agencies responsible to control big oil and big business in their greed for profit at the expense of our planet. His appointees are selected as people who are expected to undermine  the function of these agencies and allow industry to do what they want. This is a person who opposed EPA plans for tougher public health standards for smog; who opposed cleaner gasoline; who opposed requiring lower polluting cars; who opposed mandating safety air bags; who opposed stronger regulations for arsenic in drinking water and who opposed measures to curb global warming. She has been correctly referred to as "a true anti-regulatory zealot" while director of the Regulatory Studies Program at George Mason University. Not surprising positions since the program is funded by the Koch family oil and gas company, notorious for its anti environment positions.

Yet this is the person George Bush nominated in July of 2006 to serve as administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) which reviews major governmental regulatory agencies and their proposed environmental restrictions and regulations. I previously reported on her last nomination to this same position, one so powerful that all government regulatory agencies regulations would be subject to her supervision. (The Bush Administration Tries an End Run Around the Senate) Her nomination was blocked, but guess what? Mr. Bush has once again nominated her and, once again, plans to wait for Congress to adjourn so he can appoint her without having to go through Senate confirmation. Another example of the basic dishonesty of this administration in insisting on getting what they want one way or another.

In addition to Dudley, Mr. Bush’s plans include the re-nomination of William Wehrum to head the air division of the EPA and the re-nomination Alex Beehler as Inspector General of the EPA, both of which were previously blocked as unqualified. So who are these two men?

Wehrum would lead programs that address industrial and vehicle pollution as well as subjects such as air quality, ozone depletion climate change and acid rain. And what qualifies him for this responsibility? Well, he is a former lawyer to the chemical, utility and auto industries. His record at the EPA shows a consistent effort to undermine regulations in all of these areas while serving as counsel to the previous administrator. As one non profit watch dog group noted: "Virtually anything bad that the Bush Administration has done with air pollution has Bill Wehrum’s fingerprints on it." So, this is the typical, warped nominee Mr. Bush wants in this important role. His nomination was blocked previously, but Mr. Bush sees a way make an end around with this nomination as well avoiding Senate confirmation.

And what about Alex Berle? Who is he? Like Dudley he too has connections to the same oil and gas company owned by the Koch family and therefore the same industry biased agenda against restrictions causing pollution of the planet. This company has an industry reputation as one of the most toxic and environmental violators, so you can imagine Beehler’s views on enforcement of regulations designed to protect the environment. Mr. Bush sees an opportunity to slip him in while Congress is adjourned along with the other two making a trio of "see no evil, hear no evil and evil."

So there you have it. The Bush administration has no embarrassment in brazenly nominating the most biased anti environmental and anti regulatory control zealots that can be found in order to hinder and undermine the very function of the agency they are being appointed to head. The abuse of power and arrogance of the Bush/Cheney administrator exceeds any previous one in recent history.