Digging deeper: The enviro-nitwit-ization of the GOP

By Michelle Malkin  •  December 13, 2007 02:08 AM

Well, fun was had by all yesterday covering the stultifying Schoolmarm and the GOP candidates in Iowa. Fred Thompson earned his gold medal for refusing to follow Schoolmarm’s order for a show of hands on an inane global warming question. Now, let’s dig a little deeper.

As I noted yesterday, the rest of the leading GOP candidates’ responses to Schoolmarm’s global warming query demonstrate a rather disturbing greening of the party. And not just mild green. But bright, neon, Gore green. Total enviro-nitwit-ization. Can these guys really belong to the same party as stalwart, anti-fearmonger Sen. Jim Inhofe? Have they not been briefed on NASA’s shenanigans? Like John Stossel says: “What you think you know may not be so.”

Look at the screenshot Allah captured of the exact moment Schoolmarm asked the candidates to raise their hands if they “believe global climate change is a serious threat and caused by human activity.” I lightened, annotated, and labeled the pic for ease of scrutiny:

4hands.jpg

Faster than Al Gore’s Gulfstream, the hands of Giuliani, Huckabee, and McCain shot straight up in agreement with the First Commandment of Global Warming: Thou Shalt Blame Man. What about Romney? As Allah sharply noted (he’s also got video), Mitt’s mitt waffled at “half-hearted half-mast”–before he sheepishly turned it into a clap for Thompson.

You want to cringe some more? Here’s the relevant portion of the transcript of the exchange.

MS. WASHBURN: Thank you.

I want to take on a new issue. I would like to see a show of hands. How many of you believe global climate change is a serious threat and caused by human activity?

MR. THOMPSON: Well, do you want to give me a minute to answer that?

MS. WASHBURN: No, I don’t. I –

MR. THOMPSON: Well, then I’m not going to answer it. (Laughter, applause.)

MS. WASHBURN: Okay.

MR. HUCKABEE (?): How about 30 seconds?

MS. WASHBURN: No, I — you know, I want –

MR. THOMPSON: You want a show of hands, and I’m giving it to you.

MS. WASHBURN: We’re going to follow up on that, but what I need to know is who believes global climate change is serious and caused by human activity.

MR. GIULIANI: I do.

MS. WASHBURN: And then we’ll talk in more detail about it.

MR. : Serious? It is.

MR. GIULIANI: I believe that global climate change is a serious –

(Cross talk.)

SEN. MCCAIN: And I think climate change is real, and I –

MR. HUCKABEE (?): Let’s have a chance about it –

(Cross talk, laughter.)

MS. WASHBURN: Go — I’m going to start with Senator McCain, come back to Mayor Giuliani.

SEN. MCCAIN: I’ve been involved in this issue since the year 2000. I have had hearings. I’ve traveled the world. I know that climate change is real.

But let me put — put it to you this way. Suppose that climate change is not real, and all we do adopt green technologies, which our economy and our technology is perfectly capable of. Then all we’ve done is given our kids a cleaner world.

But suppose they are wrong. Suppose they are wrong, and climate change is real, and we’ve done nothing. What kind of a planet are we going to pass on to the next generation of Americans? It’s real. We’ve got to address it. We can do it with technology, with cap-and- trade, with capitalist and free enterprise motivation. And I’m confident that we can pass on to our children and grandchildren a cleaner, better world.

MS. WASHBURN: Mayor Giuliani?

MR. GIULIANI: I agree with — I agree with John. Climate change is real. It’s happening. I believe human beings are contributing to it. I think the best way to deal with it is through energy independence.

MS. WASHBURN: Who doesn’t agree?

MR. GIULIANI: And I think energy independence is a –

MR. : That I agree with.

MS. WASHBURN: Who doesn’t agree?

REP. HUNTER (?): But he said “contributing” but not totally –

MR. : No — yes.

MR. : No.

MR. : Yeah.

MR. : Oh, okay.

MR. : Yeah.

MR. : Yeah.

MR. : Well, and I — (laughter) –

(Cross talk.)

REP. HUNTER (?): On our party, you’re getting closer –

SEN. MCCAIN: More than contributing, my friend –

MR. ROMNEY (?): Give us — give us each a chance.

MS. WASHBURN: I did.

MR. GIULIANI: And I think that our party should embrace this as an issue for us, in our positions –

MS. WASHBURN: Well, let me come at this way. Let me come at it this way. What impact on the economy would be acceptable in order to reverse global warming and greenhouse gas emissions?

Governor Romney?

MR. ROMNEY: Well, it’s going to help our economy because we’re going to invest in new technologies to get ourselves off of foreign oil, and as we get ourselves off of foreign oil, we also dramatically reduce our CO2 emissions. That’s good for the environment; it’s also good for our economy. Because $300 to $400 billion worth of oil a year from other people who use it against us, that’s bad for our economy, it’s also bad for the environment.

MS. WASHBURN: So then our –

MR. ROMNEY: We can do these things in a way that help both the environment and the economy and national security. That’s the beauty of what we’re talking about here, which is, yeah, is global warming an issue for the world? Absolutely. Is it something we can deal with by becoming energy independent and energy secure? We sure can.

But at the same time, we call it global warming, not America warming. So let’s not put a burden on us alone and have the rest of the world skate by without having to participate in this effort. It’s a global effort, but our independence is something we can do unilaterally.

No effort to challenge the fundamental premise of the question. Just Gore-approved soundbites and cheery “have our eco-cake and eat it, too” platitudes.

No full-throttled attack on radical eco-fear-mongering and the manipulation of environmental science for political gain.

Not even a mild-mannered “Well, the science isn’t settled and there is by no means a consensus.”

Is this the best we can do?

Bad enough we have border control cross-dressers leading the GOP presidential pack.

Must the Republican nominee also be a Gore-in-GOP clothing, too?

Posted in: Enviro-nitwits

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Comments


  1. #195159
    On December 13th, 2007 at 4:08 pm, AlohaGuy said:

    pg #91,

    The leading NASA Gorical, James Hansen, claimed for a year or two that 2005 was the warmest year on record. It wasn’t, his data was wrong – discredited by a Canadian scientist. It’s not even in the top ten. NASA changed the data quietly – shown in the graph in #87 above, but his claim regularly comes back from the dead in the MSM.

    From This Article:

    …his analysis caused NASA to revise their data down 0.15 degrees Celsius. Prior to the correction of the error, NASA claimed that global temperatures for 2005 were 0.75 degrees Celsius above the average between 1950 and 1980. This is a 20% error, hardly insignificant. In fact, from a statistician’s point of view this is a huge mistake.

  2. #195168
    On December 13th, 2007 at 4:16 pm, deepdiver said:

    On December 13th, 2007 at 2:17 pm, SHoward said:#94
    If you compare just these two issues, the ozone layer and global warming, it sounds like someone is always looking for a “Crisis of the Month.”

    Liberalism/progessivism doesn’t work unless there is a crisis. The democrat party hold no sway over anyone unless there is a non-military crisis. Their entire platform is about duping stupid little Janey,who is the victim of an NEA controlled government education indoctrination, into voting for them because they are going to save her or her children from some perceived crisis.

    If there is no crisis to save her from, the platform of “we are going to confiscate money from you, your family and your children and give it to other people who don’t work as hard as you do to earn a living and are generational welfare recipients, and to farmers (including multi-national conglomerates with billions of dollars in annual profits) to subsidize their product but not to subsidize the products of other small business owners, and to terrorist governments, and to dictators who starve and abuse their people, and to a bunch of other stupid crap that no one really wants or needs so that we politicians can stay in power,” doesn’t float at all even with 30 something year old single women living in Chicagostan or New York even who have had 3 abortions, 100 sexual partners, have been on birth control since Jr High, currently are on WIC, were abused as a child, sexually harassed at work and is now bouncing against the glass ceiling. Even a flaming liberal with that background, without the context of a crisis, would see that the democrat party is about power not compassion, wealth destruction not wealth creation, subjugation not freedom, and … oh crap, I just realized, that’s why the liberals love the muslim fanatics – they are exactly the same underneath it all!

  3. #195185
    On December 13th, 2007 at 4:37 pm, SHoward said:

    Diver, your fingers must be smokin’, dude!

  4. #195236
    On December 13th, 2007 at 5:44 pm, deepdiver said:

    I get a little bit passionate about the topics sometimes :P

  5. #195507
    On December 14th, 2007 at 1:56 am, Ombre Rose said:

    It’s going to take more than having the oldest candidate on stage refusing to play a game of handsies upsies to convince me that the one candidate who always voted closest to McCain, and fully supported McCain’s candidacy, joined the race only at a time when it looked like McCain could only hold out for mere weeks, now has anything other than the same identical view on this issue as McCain, and on all other relvant subjects, even if he is smart enough to NOT SAY SO to the American public’s face!

    He may not have raised his hand, but I think we are now witnessing a definite FINGER IN THE WIND TEST from the Fred Camp.

    I don’t trust a lawyer who thinks that Bill Clinton’s perjury wasn’t an impeacheable offence.

    Who might HE pardon, next???

    What kind of JUDGE – who isn’t concerned about crimes of PERJURY!

    FOOEY ON FRED!

  6. #195549
    On December 14th, 2007 at 6:00 am, California Unclaimed Money said:

    For those who refused to listen to reason here:
    http://michellemalkin.com/2007/12/13/digging-deeper-the-enviro-nitwit-ization-of-the-gop/#comment-194509

    And argued with me, I just have to say, I dug up the number. In Stossel’s report, he cited a poll showing that 86% of Americans think global warming is a “serious issue”.

    Again, I think global warming is such crap. Even family members of mine (who don’t buy it either) will say “it’s global warming” when we get an unseasonably warm day (which we haven’t since Oct. btw), just to irritate me, because they know it pisses me off and will set me off on a rant. Trust me, I have nothing but fury for the religion of global warming, and I honestly want to jail people like RFK Jr. and Al Gore when this matter is finally put to rest at some point, hopefully in the next decade.

    But that said, with 86% of the public buying this crap, these front runners have to pander so that Hillary or Obama doesn’t take them down in the general election with that single issue. It’s not like they’re going to give Fred a national broadcast on all channels to bring up climate change skeptic scientists and educate people, and we all see how the media treats the issue.

    It’s sad, but it’s true, this is a “sound byte” game, and I don’t know what makes you think that taking an anti-global warming position is going to help in the general election, because the message will simply not get out. Hell even that turd Shep Smith on Fox News pulls that “the debate is over” crap, and Hannity only whines about the hypocrisy, not the actual debunking.

    Look, of course the RINOs in the lead aren’t ideal candidates, and I’m not saying “pick them over Fred”. I’m just a forward looking person, and recognize that it will be one of them (not Fred), and telling you why they can’t be seen as “deniers” or we might as well swear in the Dem nominee today.

    Not one of you has countered my logic about how any GOP candidate will never be able to get the “global warming is a hoax” message out, you just want to act like Ron Paul supporters and say “Fred is the best!” Wake up, I’m talking general election here, based on the assumption Fred doesn’t get the nod. He likely won’t, pretend he doesn’t. Do you want to stay home and be principled and not vote for Romney over Hillary (effectively casting a half of a vote FOR Hillary)? Because that’s what you’re saying.

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