It should come as no surprise to anyone who's bothered to read this here website that my politics lean pretty far left and that I'm a big fan of EV technology. So when I saw a New York Times article about how those very Republicans who voted against the Inflation Reduction Act are now poised to reap the economic benefits (and crow about it to voters, no less!), it gave me some pause for thought:
Democrats pushed through climate change legislation this year that earmarked tens of billions of dollars to create a U.S. supply chain for electric vehicles. Republicans and the states they represent are poised to cash in on much of the political and economic windfall.
For Republican members of Congress, none of whom voted for the climate law, it’s the best of both worlds. They can call the spending wasteful, while benefiting politically from the jobs and money that car and battery factories bring to their districts.
Through the lens of "Mass EV adoption is great for the planet," I don't care where in the United States these battery and vehicle factories are built. I want to see a variety of U.S.-built EVs on the road! The less combustion engines, the better.
But the hypocrisy is a bit too much. To wit:
Ideology has not prevented red-state politicians from trumpeting green investments in their districts. The disconnect was on display in Spartanburg, S.C., on Wednesday, when BMW announced plans to upgrade a factory to produce electric vehicles, and to build a new plant nearby to assemble batteries.
Among the South Carolina Republicans on hand to celebrate the $1.7 billion investment was Gov. Henry McMaster, who has called for abolishing the Environmental Protection Agency, yet this month appointed an electric vehicle coordinator to encourage companies to invest in the state.
And:
In Kentucky, which is represented in the Senate by Mitch McConnell, the minority leader who led opposition to the Inflation Reduction Act, battery factories will soon employ more people than the coal industry, traditionally a pillar of the state’s economy and identity.
Good.
