The Spectacle Blog
Times, (Political) Temps Have Changed
Politico’s Darren Samuelsohn reports that many Republican candidates this year boldly proclaim their skepticism about the dangers of global warming.
Politico’s Darren Samuelsohn reports that many Republican candidates this year boldly proclaim their skepticism about the dangers of global warming:
Fueled by anti-Obama rhetoric and news articles purportedly showing scientists manipulating their own data, Republicans running for the House, Senate and governor’s mansions have gotten bolder in stating their doubts over the well-established link between man-made greenhouse gas emissions and global warming.
For example:
Ron Johnson, running against Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold, is the latest in a line of Republicans to take a shot at the validity of global warming.
“I absolutely do not believe in the science of man-caused climate change,” Johnson told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Monday. “It’s not proven by any stretch of the imagination.”
Johnson told the newspaper that the climate change theory was “lunacy” and blamed changes in the Earth’s temperature to “sunspot activity or just something in the geologic eons of time.”
Similar remarks have been heard from GOP candidates in all parts of the country even as mainstream climate scientists defend their work from a steady line of attack.
How refreshing. It was less than a year ago that even one of conservatives’ favorite governors (to be), New Jersey’s Chris Christie, ran a campaign committed to principles such as “global warming justice,” “saying no to coal,” and even more subsidizing of inefficient renewable energy projects, especially solar. That used to be the norm for all candidates; no more.
View all comments (6) | Leave a comment
Related Blog Posts
More Blog Posts by Paul Chesser
http://spectator.org/blog/2010/08/18/times-political-temps-have-cha
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
Current Issue
- Ailes: A Voice for the Silent Majority
- What’s in a Name?
- Obama’s Drone War
SPONSORED LINKS
FLASHBACK TO: 1995
-
Pope Culture
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
-
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
-
Dames at Sea
-
In the Absence of Guns
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
-
The Metaphysical Martini
-
Counting the Costs of Clintonism
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
-
Chuck McHagel
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
-
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted
-
It’s the Best Time of the Year
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
-
The Bush Crack-Up
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
Clip of the Day
H/T to National Review Online
ADVERTISEMENT
MikeN| 8.18.10 @ 3:07PM
These candidates just make themselves look foolish. I don't know anything about Ron Johnson, but if you have a large group of Republicans proclaiming the science is wrong, chances are very good they are going to be saying things that are demonstrably false. It is similar to when they ere saying tax cuts yield more revenues. That wasn't what Laffer or the supply-siders were saying. Some tax cuts could, depending on where you are on the Laffer curve, and the bigger case is that tax cuts gain back some of the revenue by producing economic growth. Most people weren't saying that, just tax cuts produce revenue.
I'd rather not have candidates saying things like hiding the decline in temperatures, while the statement is defensible, temps have not declined.
Also, CO2 causes global warming. A bit of cold weather doesn't invalidate models.
Just stick to saying the proposed solutions are bad, and won't work.
Dan S| 8.19.10 @ 10:48AM
When meteorologists can predict next month's weather successfully, much less 100 years from now, I will begin to believe these "computer models". Ever hear of "garbage in, garbage out"? These people want their grants and they can only get their grants if they predict disaster ahead, and since the disaster predicted will be long after the researchers have died, they have nothing to lose.
Interested Conservative| 8.19.10 @ 1:24PM
We've seen all this before:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysenkism
Interested Conservative| 8.19.10 @ 1:25PM
"Lysenkoism is used colloquially to describe the manipulation or distortion of the scientific process as a way to reach a predetermined conclusion as dictated by an ideological bias, often related to social or political objectives."
er| 8.19.10 @ 1:57PM
Exactly - the most effective way to advance a political agenda is to fabricate a "crisis." That's precisely what AGW is - a fabrication.