Rick Perry regrets calling for elimination of the Energy Department now that he knows what it does

[DonViejo]

Rick Perry regrets calling for the elimination of the U.S. Department of Energy, which he has been chosen to lead, now that he understands what it does.

The former Texas governor infamously forgot to identify the department as one of three he wanted to cut — along with Commerce and Education — if elected president, during a 2011 Republican primary debate.

He also apparently misunderstood the Energy Department’s role after Donald Trump nominated him to serve as its secretary.

Perry initially believed he would serve as a global ambassador for the American oil and gas industry — a role he gladly embraced. But Perry soon learned that, if he was confirmed by the Senate, he would actually oversee a vast national security complex and nuclear arsenal he knew almost nothing about.

more
http://www.rawstory.com/2017/01/rick-perry-regrets-calling-for-elimination-of-the-energy-department-now-that-he-knows-what-it-does/

[Yavin4]

1. The "oops' never stop with him. n/t

[Dave Starsky]

2. Shaking my head.

Are we really going to pretend that all of this is even approaching normal? That there's not something really, really fucked up about all this?

[narnian60]

7. +1

[renate]

17. after tomorrow, America will be run by people for whom it's a hobby

The most powerful country in the world will suddenly have no grownups in charge.

[Dave Starsky]

18. It's worse than any "future dystopia" I could imagine.

Many people have pointed out similarities to the movie Idiocracy. But even in Idiocracy, the President might have been a buffoon, but at least he cared enough about his people to recognize the nation's problems and select the best people he could find to solve them. We don't even have that!

[hamsterjill]

19. I'm not pretending...

It is QUITE clear to me that this truly is "really fucked up". There's just very little I can do about it except (like you) scream it at the top of my lungs to anyone who will listen.

Yes, I have been and continue to call my reps and I will be participating in the march on Saturday.

[Dave Starsky]

21. We need to be harrassing the media outlets about it, too.

Because I just know that on Sunday, Chuck Todd is going to present this as some sort of masterful, unique strategy by Trump to change the dynamics of our nuclear stewardship. You and I both know it's just fucking crazy.

You're right. This is just preaching to the choir. Although I live in a pretty blue area, I have loved ones who are in solid Republican strongholds. I need to educate them and help them express their voice in stopping this crap.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

3. Chances are Trump has the exact same misconception about what

the Department of Energy does, only in his case he won't ever learn any different.

[NightWatcher]

4. Ew, science is hard

Is he still going to keep the job?

[Kittycow]

5. Reading this, I've finally reached my tipping point and want to cry.

Maybe the denial stage wore off...just in time for Friday.

[vlyons]

6. Rick Perry - dumbass

Our current energy secretary is a distinguished theoretical and nuclear physicist and member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The previous Energy secretary, Shephen Chu, was a distinguished physicist and Nobel laureate.

Rick Perry has a B.S. in animal husbandry from Texas A&M, and is reputed to have made Cs and Ds in his science classes. But he was also an Aggie yell leader at A&M football games.

That is Trump's version of giving us "the very best people" to Make America Great Again.

[yellowcanine]

8. I always liked Molly Ivin's take on "Mr. Oops." - Governor Goodhair.

[BSdetect]

9. Can they get more shameful?

Its too depressing to think about for more than a few minutes.

Incredible that they can probably now dumb America down further.

[longship]

10. Don't be fooled. He still doesn't know what it does.

Let alone understand anything about it.

The current and previous Energy Secretaries have PhDs in physics, the previous one with a Nobel Prize in physics.

Perry is uniquely unqualified for this post.

[Initech]

11. See, republicans? It pays to read!

[librechik]

12. people forget DOE used to be called the Atomic Energy Department

These are the people who try to control nukes, ours and theirs.

So good to have a smart guy like Perry in charge!

[dalton99a]

22. Ya mean... there is no oil in atoms?

[Wounded Bear]

13. Now that his job depends on the existence of the department...

[haele]

14. He'll probably still be happy just to be a figurehead and let the Department run itself.

While fossil fuel businesses might want to get rid of some of the science and regulatory policy work the DoE does, the Tech businesses love to leverage of the DoE R&D side, and still other businesses appreciate the standards and standardization work the DoE does for their commercial products - and for legal protections.
While the DoE will take an organizational hit, there are enough competing interests that may protect the majority of work it does.
It is far more profitable for Billionaire investment/trust fund/CEOs to have a robust DoE than it is for one or several of them to privatize most of the work the DoE does.

Haele

[Wounded Bear]

15. We should hope this is how it goes...

But Trump and House Gopers may have other ideas.

[Orrex]

16. I was 100% certain that this was a Borowitz headline

Stranger than fiction, indeed.

[hamsterjill]

20. He doesn't want the job; he just wants the paycheck and the perks.

God, he is such a moron!