Posted on 03/27/2008 1:17:59 PM PDT by Gelato
A series of events this week provided interesting insight into how climate and energy issues might play out in the general election next fall when Republican nominee John McCain will face either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. McCain spent six months before the New Hampshire primary highlighting his environmental credentials in comparison to the weaker records of his Republican competition.
For first time in the campaign, McCain is now directly challenging the Democratic candidates on their climate commitments and highlighting his record in the Senate. At a town hall in California yesterday, The Washington Post blog The Trail reported that when asked to distinguish himself from the Democrats on climate change, McCain stated:
I dont know what their position is because I havent seen them show any particular commitment in the U.S. Senate or elsewhere I have proposed legislation and fought for amendments.
If McCain continues to make this argument through the general election climate change will surely be covered by the media and play a role in the election.
Interestingly, John McCain spent much of last week meeting with European leaders and discussing global problems such as climate change while the two Democratic candidates slogged it out in West Virginia talking up clean coal to scrounge up votes in the coal rich state.
In an op-ed in the UKs Financial Times titled America must be a good role model, McCain promised that the United States would work with all European countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat global climate change.
McCain writes:
I have introduced legislation that would require a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, but that is just a start. We need a successor to Kyoto, a cap-and-trade system that delivers the necessary environmental impact in an economically responsible manner. New technologies hold great promise. We need to unleash the power and innovation of the marketplace in order to meet our environmental challenges. Right now safe, climate-friendly nuclear energy is a critical way both to improve the quality of our air and to reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources.
Clintons statements on West Virginia Public Radio:
I am concerned about it for all the reasons people state, but I think its a difficult question because of the conflict between the economic and environmental trade-off that you have here.
Obama on the stump in West Virginia:
We can create up to 5 million new green jobs including new clean coal jobs.
The statements coming from the Clinton and Obama camps out of West Virginia have some environmentalists concerned. If you need proof, just read the comments on the grist stories. It is important to remember that McCain has been generally supportive of expanding and investing in clean coal technology throughout the campaign as well.
John McCain enjoys a position in the election right now where many of his statements go unchallenged by either of the Democratic candidates. In the fall it will be interesting to see how the Democrats eventually counterpunch McCains charge that neither has demonstrated any particular commitments to climate change.
McCain owes the Huckster big time for his nomination. The 'abortion is the only issue we care about period end of story' social conservative voters went for the Huckster, while the rest of the base was split between Romney, Rudy, Fred, etc.
That left the moderates in mostly blue states to decide our nominee. In a nutshell, that's how we got here: couple that with the Drive-Bys constantly shilling for their 'maverick' buddy McCain, and it seems pretty obvious.
I support McCain’s call to fight climate change - let’s keep “Global Warming” and do away with the “Global Cooling” that is descending upon us.
That sounds scary.
I don’t support Obama/Hillary either—should I shut up on threads about them?
Are we Freepers or RNCers?
The GOP apparently now stands for “Grand Old Politburo,” “Getting Over Principle,” “Growing Old Proggressive,” and “Gathering Of Pisants.”
And them dems are running around shooting themselves(each other) in the foot on a daily basis.
McNutt lost conservatives a long time ago, now he may not need them if reports of some of the Beast's supporters switching over (MCcain democrats) in the general are correct.
We actually had real conservatives in the race. Now we're left with Dem, Dem and dem lite.
Some frick'n choice.
Global warming!?
Sure we can waste billions in a futile effort to change the climate as soon as we tackle a few more pressing issues such as...
1. Defeat islamic facism/global terrorism
2. New Energy Policy - Build refineries, drill in ANWR, nuclear energy, energy independence
3. Reform the IRS - Fair/Flat Tax
4. Immigration Reform - Stop illegals pouring into our country
5. Privatize Social Security
6. Healthcare Reform - MSAs, Get government out of healthcare and reduce costs
6A. Legal reform - Reign in trial lawyers and frivilous lawsuits
7. Education Reform - School vouchers, get the Federal government and unions out of education
8. End all fraud, waste and redundant bureaucracy in Washington
9. Reform Congress/Term Limits - reduce wasteful government spending
10. Reform state and local government - reduce waste, corruption, bureaucracy
11. Drastically reduce the UN - reign in spending, bureaucracy, corruption
11. College Football Playoff - No more Barbra Streisand BCS!
12. Send a man to Mars
13. Annex Canada - get rid of all the socialists
14. Annex Mexico - They’re all coming here anyway - get rid of all socialists
15. Cure the Common Cold
16. Get rid of reality TV
17. Ship all liberal entertainers to Europe
18. Convert ABC, CBS, MSNBC, CNN, NBC to unbiased media networks
19. World Peace
etc
etc
etc
etc
etc
99. And if we aren’t in an ice age and someone is still dumb enough to think that man can change the climate...Stop Global Warming!
Proponents of McCain-Finegold no doubt.
Does that mean we can't post to McNutt themed threads if the thread itself is critical of McNutt?
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Christopher Horner Video: "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming" |
Our only hope now is to convince him that illegal immigration causes Global Warming.
Mr. McCain is a left-wing globalist and probably insane, too.
That little UN Marxist scam will plunge the US into a financial depression.
Reading between the lines: If anything positive comes out of the climate-change-crapagandaTM, it may be this forced realization: we'll either fry or drown in tidal waves, before we ever get sick from nuke plant radiation. If France & Japan can get 70-80% of their energy from nuclear energy, why not revive it in the U.S.?
John "McCaribou" is against drilling for oil in Alaska, so for realistic energy solutions, there are very few other options. It's just that thanks to historic media brainwashing that raises mass hysteria at the mere mention of the word "nuclear", he and all other politicians are forced to tiptoe around the issue.
Yes! Let's send a U.S. Senator, please!
Well said
Not to worry. Those soon-to-be-trillionaires, the Carbon Credit Barons [Algore, Klinton, Terry McAwful, Sir Richard Branson, etc.] will bail us out!
If you don’t like McCain, your are damned, if you do you are damned. I will be damned if I ever vote for this SOB and by not voting for any of these candidates I dare any A ho to tell me I have no right to gripe.
I will gripe, because I will never have to have it thrown in my face like I did when I voted for Bush. Each time I have griped about Bush, some nitwit says “well you voted for him”. Which is it butt munchers?
I already know McLame is useless. So ....I am not going to make a mistake and pretend later that I just didn’t know.
Heh, what will be your excuse? Hmm?
Thanks Grunthor.
Too bad there isn’t any Republican in the race.
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