NYT op-ed: Rift over green policy?

Op-ed New York Times January 12, 2004

On January 12, 2004, the New York Times carried an op-ed article by former us Environment Protection Agency administrator Christie Todd Whitman. In it, Whitman laments that the Bush administration is increasingly disregarding moderate Republican viewpoints.

Observers were quick to suggest that the op-ed was almost a "confession" that she had resigned over an ideological clash with her superiors -- and not due to homesickness, as she had claimed in her resignation letter. But more importantly, Whitman identified environmental policy as the primary reason for a growing chasm dividing moderate and right-wing Republicans.

Whitman is not alone in her concern over such a rift. A growing number of prominent Republican party members have squared off against the Bush administration on its environmental policies. Over the last year, they have been casting votes on issues ranging from the Bush energy plan and Superfund to global warming that directly challenge the administration's pro-industry, anti-regulation attitude.