By John Solomon
How the government's punishing of the exposure of official wrongdoing can linger for years
Law-abiding gun owners can run into serious trouble when on the move. Venturing into firearm-unfriendly states creates confusion about what individuals need to do to abide by a confusing maze of regulations. Congress should act to prevent honest citizens from winding up behind bars because police are misinformed.
When the Environmental Protection Agency announced new smokestack standards for coal-burning power plants this summer, former Virginia Gov. George Allen, a Republican running for the U.S. Senate, was quick to oppose the move.
The Senate late Friday rejected yet another House Republican proposal to stave off a looming debt crisis, acting just hours after the lower chamber had approved the measure and leaving the path to a deal still in doubt with just days to go before the Tuesday deadline.
Let the quacking begin. And the oratory. What with all the business-as-usual items on the Democratic wish list, the "tea party" will stand fast outside the lame-duck session that begins Monday in Congress.
Republican challengers unseated three Democratic House members, including a 14-term incumbent and a protege of President Obama, in a conservative whiplash election.
"Tim Kaine's new television ad says he's proud of the Virginia Hybrid Energy Center coal-fired power plant," Virginia Rep. Morgan Griffith said. "It's too bad that President Obama's new regulations won't allow anyone else to build one."
"If a state violates a federal law and then turns around and has to pay attorneys' fees, I think states across the country will quickly make sure that all the local law enforcement know what the rules are," said Mr. Griffith, a former criminal-defense attorney.
