Republicans used the looming debt crisis to force their anti-environment agenda on America. The credit ceiling agreement passed by the House on August 1, makes the Tea Party the big winner and intransigence the winning tactic. Although widely referred to as a "compromise," the Democrats made most of the concessions including eradicating tax increases for the top 2 percent of Americans and big cuts to the EPA. There is also significantly reduced funding for important energy and water projects.
