Rolling Republican Informational Blackouts

So Republicans are (predictably) blaming federal regulations, and the Obama administration, for the recent rolling blackouts in Texas. Trouble is, the Texas power companies themselves decided to cause the blackouts, on orders from ERCOT, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.

Good ol' boy Joe Barton (R-TX) blames the federal government for not letting Texas build new power generation plants. Trouble is, JoBar is just flat-out wrong:

Some are trying to blame these blackouts – which the industry has already provided explanation for – on Clean Air Act standards under consideration to curb dangerous pollution, including carbon pollution. While these claims gained traction on the internet, there is a major problem with this theory – no power plant in Texas has yet been required to do anything to control carbon pollution.

Moreover, according to JoBar, the blackouts are still no reason to develop alternative energy technologies, however:

This only underscores what I have been saying for many years - we need more power generation in Texas to keep up with the demands of a growing economy and a growing population. . . . I am a supporter of alternative energy, but at this point we can’t depend on wind and solar power because the sun isn’t always shining and the wind isn’t always blowing.

Of course, it doesn't make any sense to rely on these cheap, easy-to-build power sources when you don't effing try to build them.

This is the classic mark of a Republican - identify a problem, find the wrong cause, and propose the wrong solution. If you want to find out the real story on a problem, don't rely on a Republican - they have continuous rolling informational blackouts in place designed to keep you in the dark.