Posted by Damozel | According to The Politico, Bob Inglis (R-SC) was told by his own children that they wouldn't carry on voting for him if he didn't change his position on global warming. (The Politico) Subsequently he went to Antarctica and Greenland and took a look for himself, and now he's a believer. (The Politico) So that's what it takes, eh? All the science in the world and Inglis is only able to get past his own partisan wishful thinking by having it bluntly called to his attention that the younger generation aren't keen on inheriting the earth without icecaps.
Other Republicans are recognizing that the party's days are indeed numbered if it continues to dig in its heels on global warming out of sheer habit and a penchant for jeering at at Al Gore. Young people believe the science, and the Republicans who are not completely out of touch with their own tragic reality either believe it too or believe young voters believe it. For example, Senator John McCain has recognized the problem from early on. (The Politico) Senator John Warner "has said his top goal for his remaining days in office is passing legislation to combat global warming." He and Joe Lieberman have drafted a bill that would cap carbon emissions at 2005 levels by 2012, though it's not especially popular with either party. (The Politico) It won't pass---"it is not clear whether the public is ready to stomach the pocketbook costs of curtailing greenhouse gas emissions"---but at least they're trying.
Now they've got to work out how they
can flip flop without being accused of flip flopping ("reposition
themselves," as The Politico puts it). What's wrong with blaming Bill Clinton? It's worked every other time.
Newt Gingrich and Ken Mehlman (Bush strategist) are warning members of the party they created that they are going to get kicked to the curb if they carry on pretending that the problem doesn't exist. (The Politico)
Republican pollster Whit Ayres surveyed some independents (a/k/a
"wing voters") plus some of his own kind and was surprised to learn
that most of the Republicans surveyed are actually a little worried and
not nearly as slack-jawed as Republican leaders had perhaps been
counting on. (The Politico) "Ayres seemed most surprised that
independents and, to a lesser extent, Republicans wanted the U.S. to
act even if China and India, two big polluters with rapidly growing
economies, did not."(The Politico)
On the other hand, the Republicans (unlike the independents) seemed to
think it would be okay to postpone any action until some indefinite
time in the future(The Politico).
Republicans are split in three camps: a small but vocal group who think
global warming is basically a hoax (26 percent of GOP voters in the
Ayres poll said it does not exist); a big group that includes GOP
presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani who agree the
Earth is warming but are reluctant to embrace plans opposed by business
or viewed as burdensome government regulation; and a growing number who
are pushing for specific, market-based solutions now. (The Politico).
But what will happen when it comes down to making sacrifices? The Politico seems to be saying since that the voters aren't going to pay more now to stop global warming later, neither party is acting very quickly.
People want cleaner air, but are they willing to pay 30 percent more for natural gas to heat their home, or higher energy bills overall? Will they drive smaller cars or pay more to gas up their Durango? Probably not.(The Politico).
No, I completely agree---if you make global warming all about "cleaner air" as opposed to a pending global cataclysm that will destroy life as we know it. God forbid they should over-hype it.
More at Memeorandum.
Horses Mouth, S.C. Politics Today, The Carpetbagger Report and The Atlantic Online
Global Warming "Over-Hyped"? And How Much Hype Would be Just Right?
More on Gore and Media Memes: Did "A Gaggle of Journalists" Misreport the "9 Errors" Case?
A Response to the Critics Acid Raining on Gore's Parade (UPDATED)
Vehicle Greenhouse-Gas Emissions Progress
A New and Different Alarming Threat from Climate Change
Meanwhile, in the UK: That Rainy Day Feeling.
What are These People Doing?What, No Love for the Greener, Environmentally Friendly, Friend-of the-Earth Bush?
LINKED
Generational test for Republicans (The Politico)
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