by Greg Walcher, E&E Legal Senior Policy Fellow
The Daily Sentinel
My grandparents were avid card players, spending many happy hours with family playing hearts, rummy, pinochle and similar games. I remember occasionally, when Grandma was a little frustrated that someone was taking too long, she would say, “Well play something, even if it’s wrong.” That’s actually one of the oldest and most reliable strategies, especially in military tactics, explained by the famous 18th century Prussian General von Clausewitz as, “It is better to act quickly and err than to hesitate until the time of action is past.”
Modern presidents have certainly taken that advice to heart, knowing the “time of action” ends at the end of their term in office. But there is a difference between being decisive and being just plain rash. Former Intel CEO Andy Grove is quoted saying, “Leaders have to act more quickly today, because the pressure comes much faster.” But last-minute actions by outgoing leaders are arguably much less about responding to fast-moving pressure than about avoiding public scrutiny. The tactic is on display at the end of every American president’s term.\
Last week President Joe Biden established a new national monument in Maine, at the 57-acre home of the late Labor Secretary Frances Perkins. It is the 433rd addition to the National Park System, the 10th created by Biden, including an Indian boarding school in Pennsylvania, a 1909 schoolhouse in Texas, and Camp Hale in Colorado — not just the historic 1,400-acre army training camp, but 53,000 additional acres at the Continental Divide where there is no development threat.
Also in December, the Interior secretary created five new national historic landmarks, none of which were voted on by Congress. At the same time, the EPA set a deadline for the removal of lead pipes all across America, as well as a new series of fines for methane emissions from oil and gas wells. And the Energy Department is racing to sign 28 new contracts totaling $37 billion for electric vehicle and other green technology subsidies.
