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Opinion: Defending California

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This may come as something of a shock to Californians used to taking a fair share of grief from East Coasters, but the Washington Post has weighed in on behalf of the Golden State in Capitol Hill’s brewing fight over regulating greenhouse gases.

The Post editorialized on the issue late last week, and the paper left no doubt about its stance — the piece was headlined ‘Kneecapping California.’

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Nor did the editorial hesitiate from taking a shot at one of the leaders of the congressional bid to thwart California from adopting emission rules that are tougher than federal standards; the Post referred to Rep. Rick Boucher as ‘D-Va. — or is that D-Big Coal?’

Boucher, for more than 20 years, has represented the mountainous southwest corner of Virginia, where coal mining is a key industry.

Both the editorial and a recent news article by The Times’ Richard Simon noted that Democrats are the ones spearheading the effort to derail the much-touted California initiative. This vividly illustrates that especially on environmental matters, where lawmakers come from can be more important than party affiliation in determining their positions. And, of course, the dispute sets up a particularly intriguing test for California’s most powerful figure in Washington, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

— Don Frederick

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