The GOP is now a party of know-nothing flat-earthers
One of the greatest crises of our time is climate change, which threatens to create food shortages (as the Russians learned this summer), change geography, eradicate entire eco-systems and even wipe out cities and towns in coastal areas. (NOTE: If you are an anti-science know-nothing, don’t bother to comment. The clear scientific consensus indicates a warming climate caused by human activity.)
But we’ve reached the odd and depressing point in American politics where not a single Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate supports aggressive action to mitigate climate change. The last science literate, Delaware Congressman Mike Castle, was defeated by tea party favorite Christine O’Donnell.
The blog Think Progress did a survey of GOP Senate candidates, and it found that even those who had previously supported policies that would curb carbon emissions have backed away, fearing a backlash from their know-nothing constituents.
Many others have simply chosen to be ignorant anti-science flat-earthers. Alaska’s Joe Miller, who defeated incumbent Lisa Murkowski in the GOP primary, is an example of the latter category. He told an Alaska newspaper,
“We haven’t heard there’s man-made global warming.” [Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, 8/23/10]
Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson is in the more sophisticated category, too smart to deny the science outright but unwilling to buck a tide of flat-earth voters and selfish businesses that don’t want to change their ways. This was Isakson’s response, according to Think Progress:
Science has shown us that there has been a gradual warming of the earth over the last 50 years. What is not as clear is whether the cause for this warming is man-made emissions, a cyclical warming of the planet, or a combination of both. Given the uncertainty in the science behind climate change, I believe that we should take proactive steps, both personally and as a nation, to reduce our emissions. footprint.
Interestingly, though, Isakson doesn’t support any “proactive measures” to combat climate change.
The current GOP represents a step backward from the Bush administration, which acknowledged the threat of climate change. In 2007, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the US was “a major emitter” and was not “above the international community on the issue.” She also said that “all nations should tackle” the “growing problem” of climate change. (h/t The New Civil Rights Movement)
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679 comments Add your comment
granny godzilla
September 16th, 2010
1:49 pm
George W
Even you have stated that global warming is at least partially man made…
Ms. Chokesondic
September 16th, 2010
1:50 pm
2 out of 3 doctors recommended Lucky Strike cigarettes in the “40s and 50’s”. So, science adjusts at it gets better. In the mean time, tax, tax, tax and tax so more, but not in the ghetto.
barking frog
September 16th, 2010
1:51 pm
Al Gore invented the internet.
JohnnyReb
September 16th, 2010
1:52 pm
“Science has shown us that there has been a gradual warming of the earth over the last 50 years.”
Of course the science shows rising temperatures, the great scientific minds installed their temperature measuring equipment too close to concrete/asphalt that holds the heat from the Sun and too close to heat producing machinery such as airconditioner condensers. This just one example of the flawed science.
gary
September 16th, 2010
1:52 pm
I’ve long noticed that is seems just about everything CT writes about is bashing Bush, Republicans, and Conservatives in general. And I thought it might be nice (for a change) if she wrote about the good things Obama, Democratics, and Liberals have done. And I realized that YES, she has writen such an article.
That was about Obama not having taken as many vacation days as George Bush. See, she really is pretty fair minded after all.
hdhd
September 16th, 2010
1:52 pm
Lack of government action does not mean lack of action. Americans need to take back the freedom from the government where they can chose as a society if changes to our habits need to be made. Not to mention that the only true movement toward “clean technology” will have to be driven by the free market.
Joe
September 16th, 2010
1:52 pm
Man made Climate Change is the largest scam in the history of the United States.
Kevin in Snellville
September 16th, 2010
1:52 pm
Um. Let’s see. Since you are an complete know-nothing Cynthia I would prefer that you not comment. What an idiot you are as the great majority of Americans have known and voiced for years.
George W
September 16th, 2010
1:52 pm
There is no doubt that the actions of man have had an affect on our environment. But there is not reason to believe that this is causing the earth to warm. Please dont believe everything you hear.
The earth has climate cycles that have occured long before the arrival of humans. I would be willing to bet you in about 20 years they will worried that the earth is cooling.
CYNT U MUST KEEP UR JOB
September 16th, 2010
1:54 pm
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! AS LONG AS WE KEEP THE REDNECKS CONCERNED ABOUT OBAMA NOT BEING BORN IN THE UNTIED STATES,THEY WONT SEE US REPUBLICANS SHIPPING THEIR JOBS OVERSEAS!
kevinbgoode
September 16th, 2010
1:54 pm
BillyBob sez: “I know my diety is different from yours, I believe in Jesus Christ and the LORD, which is why I said….”YOUR MAKER”…..I love exposing lib’s who trade on intolerance….wait, that seems to be most these days.”
——————————————————
It does seem as if conservatives spend an awful lot of time worshipping themselves in the mirror.
Thomas Lee Elifritz
September 16th, 2010
1:55 pm
You have just asserted global warming is caused by human activity. You haven’t attempted to defend the position with evidence.
Well here’s how it works, you open your eyes, look at the screen, locate the search bar, and then type in some keywords. Then you click on a link, and then after a period of miracles and magic, you open your eyes again, look at the screen and read the words.
(www dot) climate.nasa.gov/evidence/
There are literally millions of pages of this stuff. If you have a problem with it, then form your own alternative hypothesis and give it your best attempt. I won’t be waiting around for it.
granny godzilla
September 16th, 2010
1:55 pm
I certainly hope the production of Spam and Spam related items isnt responsible for global warming as Mr Godzilla and I would die from starvation.
Gimme an s…S
Gimme an p…P
Gimme an a…A
Gimma an m…M
Whats that spell? SPAM
Whats that spell!! SPAM SPAM SPAM!!! YEEAAAA!!
JohnnyReb
September 16th, 2010
1:56 pm
The CCX is a con game designed to make the stockholders wealthy while it spreads the wealth of America to minorities in this country and other developing countries.
Of course conservatives are against Cap & Tax. The bigger question should be, why can’t the tree hugger progressives come up with a fix that does not take from producers and does not involve another tax? It’s the same old Democratic solution. Tax the producers more and give it to the entitlement dependent. Except, this one is rotten to its very core.
George W
September 16th, 2010
1:56 pm
Kevingoode, we will continue to worship ourselves in the mirror as long as you continue to worship you idol “Mr. Obama”. Bown down Biotch
CYNT U MUST KEEP UR JOB
September 16th, 2010
1:57 pm
WHATS FUNNY IS THAT DICK CHENEY SAID IF YOU DONT MAKE OVER $250,000 A YEAR,THEN YOU ARE NOT A REAL REPUBLICAN! SO WHY ARE ALL THOSE BROKE HICKS IN RURAL GEORGIA REPUBLICANS? WHEN YEAR IN AND YEAR OUT THE RETHUGLICANS SCREW THEM OVER!
P.S. HOW DID THOSE BUSH TAX CUTS HELP THOSE RURAL REDNECKS? TAXCUTS WITH NO JOB! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
mmm, mmm, mmm, Barack the LIAR Obama - BEND OVER, Here comes the CHANGE!
September 16th, 2010
1:58 pm
Talk about flat earth, if you belive this I have some ocean front prooperty in Arizona for you.
1 in 7 Americans Now Living in Poverty
What a JOKE….but what do you expect from the LIAR administration?
mmm, mmm, mmm…..
George W
September 16th, 2010
1:59 pm
CYNT U MUST……If ignorance is bliss you must be a really happy person.
Nothing Is Free
September 16th, 2010
1:59 pm
Libs are concerned about a mythical ending to life as we know it on this planet.
Some of us are worried about more pressing problems:
From the AJC:
Georgia had 300,000 more people fall into poverty from 2008 to 2009, a 20-percent increase that exceeds the national average, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures released today.
The state ranked second behind Mississippi, according to an annual report called Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2009. Last year Georgia trailed six other states.
The figures show Georgia “in the teeth of the recession,” said Harvey Newman, a professor in the Andrew Young School of Public Policy at Georgia State University.
Newman said the single biggest factor for the poverty rate was job loss. He also said the new poor extend beyond the homeless into people who had been working and were middle class. More people are unemployed and have been unemployed for longer periods. On top of that, the state is feeling the effect of the real-estate collapse ripple through other employment sectors, he said.
There were 1.77 million people below the federal poverty line in 2009, according to the census figures. For a two-parent family of four, the national poverty level is $21,756.
Georgia has experienced a statistically significant increase in poverty, said Trudi Renwick, a census statistics worker.
The census estimates are based on a limited state sample of 4,610 Georgians. More detailed statistics are expected in two weeks. To lessen the margin of error, census officials recommended comparing 2006-2007 figures to 2008-2009 to estimate the state’s poverty rate. Over that time, Georgia’s poverty rate jumped from 13.1 percent to 16.9 percent.
The nation’s poverty rate in 2009 was 14.3 percent, up from 13.2 percent in 2008. There were 43.6 million people in poverty in 2009, up from 39.8 million in 2008.
JJ
September 16th, 2010
2:02 pm
I read an article showing ice cores from Antartica indicated temperatures 10,000 years ago averaged about 1.5 to 2.0 degrees warmer than our current average global temperature. There is tremendous hard data out there indicating temperatures were much warmer before man ever had any impact. Read, read, read, then decide for yourself. I would love to know how much independent reading CT has done on this subject
Thomas Lee Elifritz
September 16th, 2010
2:02 pm
Libs are concerned about a mythical ending to life as we know it on this planet.
Some of us are worried about more pressing problems:
When posting nonsense fails, change the subject.
Larry Fontenot
September 16th, 2010
2:04 pm
Nothing new here – CT will never stray from the democrat plantation. She is merely regurgitating the Obama line. What we actually have here is a plan for redistribution of wealth on a global scale. CT either intentionally lied to mislead her readers or knows not of the debunking of the man-made global warming scam. All Gore should have written this piece . . . or did he? He’s laughing all the way to the bank! CT, I doubt that you loathe Republicans as much as they would you – if they wasted their time reading your column.
Cynthia Is Sexy!!
September 16th, 2010
2:07 pm
It will be such a wonderful day when Imam Obama and his cast of idiots is tossed out of the presidency on their asses. I am so sick and tired of his lies and spin on everything.
Steve
September 16th, 2010
2:08 pm
Dearest Cynthia – You are getting lambasted on this one…”Nothing is Free” has made you look like an intellectual ding-dong.
Anyhow…Democrats are TOAST in 2010…Obama TOAST in 2012….and the AJC (Cynthia’s employer) is on life support..
Thomas Lee Elifritz
September 16th, 2010
2:09 pm
I read an article showing ice cores from Antartica indicated temperatures 10,000 years ago averaged about 1.5 to 2.0 degrees warmer than our current average global temperature.
And of course you can’t give us a link to that article so we can read it ourselves.
Ice core data and proxies come in many forms and go back hundreds of thousands and even many tens of millions of years. I know how inconvenient that is for young earth creationists like yourself, but you’ll just have to accept that I have read the literature and I can find things that I need to know on my own.
( www dot ) earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Paleoclimatology_IceCores/
This has a nice zoom feature, where you can easily see your statement is false.
jimbo
September 16th, 2010
2:10 pm
CT, What you are referring to is Cap and Trade and it is not science it is a scam.
You are a scam, obozo aka soetoro is a scam and his idiot wife is an embarassment.
Try a subject you know anything about, that would be a relief, your are lame…
We will be taking out the trash on Nov 2nd 2010
Nothing Is Free
September 16th, 2010
2:11 pm
Thomas Lee Elifritz
500 posts on climate change while our fellow Georgians are worried about eating.
Perhaps the subject should be changed.
George W
September 16th, 2010
2:11 pm
JEB BUSH IN 2012!!!!
paleo-neo-Carlinist
September 16th, 2010
2:13 pm
joe@1:152 – manmade deities (religion) is the biggest scam in history. the fact that environmentalism is becomin a religion is nothing short of ironic,
Thomas Lee Elifritz
September 16th, 2010
2:13 pm
500 posts on climate change while our fellow Georgians are worried about eating.
Indeed they should be, because agriculture is completely dependent upon carbon combustion in order to feed a world overpopulated by an order of magnitude over the Earth’s natural carrying capacity, and the greatest threat to agriculture’s ability to feed these people is global warming induced carbon combustion. Hence, the problem.
Dan
September 16th, 2010
2:17 pm
Wow this is getting more and more humorous, debating facts common sense and logic with a lib is like hunting dairy cows with a sniper rifle. Once again Ms Tucker views the world through a mirror seeing everything exactly backwards.
Halftrack
September 16th, 2010
2:17 pm
CT, The clear consensus is that the citizens are trying to be fooled into a high tax. The dangerous gas supposedly is carbon-dioxide. The clear fact is that this is only 3% of the air make up. The biggest portion is water vapor. Man only contributes to the air about 0.3 of 1% of the carbon-dioxide. Most of the real scientist know this. Have you ever checked any data on this? You only print what coincides with your pre-conceived ideas.
barking frog
September 16th, 2010
2:18 pm
We are cleaning up our act. Utilities are using cleaner
fuels and cleaning emissions from all fuels. Cars are
emitting cleaner exhaust. Smog is disappearing.
Cities are greening with trees. Solar power is growing.
Wind farms are being created. The Bloom box is
on the way. We Americans usually do the right
things but sometimes for the wrong reasons. If the
world blows up, duck.
Cynthia Is Sexy!!
September 16th, 2010
2:19 pm
Michelle Obama is handed the “keys to the kingdom” and all she can say is “living in the Whitehouse is hell”.
I still think you are hot Michelle but show a little gratitude, atleast to The Imams consituency.
George W
September 16th, 2010
2:20 pm
Maybe should be moved to a plantation.
Thomas Lee Elifritz
September 16th, 2010
2:21 pm
The biggest portion is water vapor. Man only contributes to the air about 0.3 of 1% of the carbon-dioxide. Most of the real scientist know this.
I’m pretty sure a elementary school student could point out the error in your statement.
Scientists generally ignore your level of ignorance.
George W
September 16th, 2010
2:21 pm
CORRECTION….Maybe SHE (Michelle) should be moved to a plantation.
Nothing Is Free
September 16th, 2010
2:22 pm
Thomas Lee Elifritz
The increase in Carbon Dioxide is actually great for plants considering they breath Carbon Dioxide, but of course since you took middle school science classes, i’m sure you already knew that.
Carbon Combustion is sometimes called RUST, or oxidation which has nothing to do with agriculture.
If you guys would stop listening to the people who will make billions off your own gullibility and trust what you were taught in science classes, you wouldn’t appear to be nearly as foolish or gullible.
Thomas Lee Elifritz
September 16th, 2010
2:24 pm
Carbon Combustion is sometimes called RUST, or oxidation which has nothing to do with agriculture.
I’m pretty sure that’s iron oxide. But don’t believe me, get a second opinion!
small biz
September 16th, 2010
2:24 pm
Cap and Trade is the 21st Century’s War of the Worlds. Nothing but a farce. Those in favor are no doubt connected to the proposed Chicago “exchange” that will trade carbon credits in a manner similar to a stock transaction. Most Dems (lead by Al Gore of all people) have supposedly invested small fortunes in the Chicago bank that will “finance and oversee” the operations. Nothing fishy here eh?
The WH will continue to kill mfg jobs by its ill conceived support of outdated unions. NEWS FLASH….its a global economy and these people are competing against .22 cent/hr labor. Shocking AJC article in todays paper that GA now ranks 2nd (thanks to Mississippi) in poverty population.
CT, you may be onto something…maybe the world is flat yet it rotates on a gyroscopic style orbit. Whats the difference? You can only be one place at one time so who cares as long as you are not near the edge!
JohnnyReb
September 16th, 2010
2:26 pm
“Michelle Obama is handed the “keys to the kingdom” and all she can say is “living in the Whitehouse is hell”.”
Not surprising. Michelle has zero class. A friend sent me a photo of Michelle waiting at the bottom of the steps to board AF1. Her pants are so tight you can easily see the outline of her thong underwear. First ladies just don’t dress like that.
Mike K
September 16th, 2010
2:26 pm
@Thomas Lee Elifritz
I’m pretty sure a elementary school student could point out the error in your statement.
———————————————
You’re at it again. If he’s wrong, explain why he’s wrong. Don’t just assert that he is.
Nothing Is Free
September 16th, 2010
2:28 pm
Thomas Lee Elifritz
That’s correct. Rust is also referred to as Iron Oxide, if it is a result of the oxidation of iron. Of course you also have Aluminum Oxide, calcium oxide and a slew of other compounds resulting from the oxidation of specific elements and compounds.
Are you sure you want to do this? You might do much better with me by just tossing out adolescent insults like you have done to anyone else that questioned your ignorance.
Nothing Is Free
September 16th, 2010
2:30 pm
Thomas Lee Elifritz
But getting back to your original claim that global warming was bad for agriculture, please explain why an increase in Carbon dioxide is detrimental to plants.
Mike K
September 16th, 2010
2:31 pm
@Thomas Lee Elifritz
You have just asserted global warming is caused by human activity. You haven’t attempted to defend the position with evidence.
Well here’s how it works, you open your eyes, look at the screen, locate the search bar, and then type in some keywords. Then you click on a link, and then after a period of miracles and magic, you open your eyes again, look at the screen and read the words.
(www dot) climate.nasa.gov/evidence/
There are literally millions of pages of this stuff. If you have a problem with it, then form your own alternative hypothesis and give it your best attempt. I won’t be waiting around for it.
————————————————————-
That’s actually not how it works. When you make an arugment you don’t say “I shouldn’t have to defend my position because my opponents should simply do the research to know I am correct.”
Second, I appreciate the link – which was a departure from most of your other posts – but it doesn’t say anything about the causes of climate change. If you read my first post, you’ll see I stated that I am also annoyed by people who deny the warming trend. I just don’t think that it has been well-established that it’s anthropogenic and I certainly don’t think that the evidence merits the enormous costs of climate change policy (especially given the uncertainty and extent of the hoped-for benefits).
Nothing Is Free
September 16th, 2010
2:33 pm
Thomas Lee Elifritz
While you are at it, with global warming, the warmer seasons are extended, giving farmers a longer season with which they can rotate crops producing more food.
Now again: how does global warming hurt agriculture?
Half Governor of Alaska
September 16th, 2010
2:34 pm
Nathan Deal Acknowledges More Debt But Says He Won’t Release More Financial Data
Poor Nathan. He should come on up to Alaska and help me keep an eye on the Russians. You betcha!
Nothing Is Free
September 16th, 2010
2:36 pm
Half Governor of Alaska
– Poor Nathan. He should come on up to Alaska and help me keep an eye on the Russians. You betcha!- -
Poor Nathan. He should come up to Alaska and watch how my influence is just slapping the crap out of the Democrats in November. We’ll cook up a Moose and have some fun!
jimbo
September 16th, 2010
2:37 pm
“CORRECTION….Maybe SHE (Michelle) should be moved to a plantation”
Yes, good idea, I have a friend who needs the cotton picked
Thomas Lee Elifritz
September 16th, 2010
2:39 pm
You’re at it again. If he’s wrong, explain why he’s wrong. Don’t just assert that he is.
Why bother, you are incapable of understanding even the simplest little thing. RUST! Funny.
Ok, the ambient carbon dioxide levels over the last several hundred thousand years never rose above 300 ppm. OK? Are you with me? The carbon fluxes in and out of the atmosphere by natural processes alone vastly exceed this amount, with or without man. Humans are responsible for the dramatic rise in the last hundred years or so above the 300 ppm level, now approaching 400 ppm. Get it? Somehow, I doubt it.
(www dot) fas.org/irp/imint/docs/rst/Sect16/Sect16_4.html
You can see the effects of vegetation alone by looking at yearly variations :
(www dot) esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/
Any kid can wiki this stuff. Seriously, that’s how stupid you are.