“A trio of Senate Republicans eyeing the White House in 2016 on Wednesday went on record as saying climate change is not a hoax, but split on the question of whether human activity is causing it.
Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) all voted for an amendment to the Keystone XL pipeline bill that said climate change is real. In turn, they all voted against an amendment from Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) that said human activity “significantly” contributes to it.
In a third and final amendment vote, Paul backed a provision that said humans contribute to the changing climate. Rubio and Cruz voted no.
All three senators are all weighing presidential bids and eying a tough primary fight in what’s likely to be a crowded GOP field.
The votes could provide fodder for Democratic attacks if any of them win the GOP nomination, or against Rubio if he decides to run for reelection instead in 2016. Rubio has previously expressed skepticism towards the idea that man-caused climate change is settled science.
Paul’s vote on human-caused climate change could wind up being a liability with GOP primary voters, but could help burnish his reputation as a Republican who can appeal to Democrats.
There were some fissures in the GOP, however, in a vote designed by Senate Democrats to put their opponents on the spot. Sens. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) split with their party to vote for the amendment.
Kirk and Ayotte may face tough reelection campaigns next year. Kirk has voted in the past in favor of cap and trade legislation, and has a fairly centrist voting record on environmental issues. Alexander, Graham and Collins recently won reelection and have signaled they’re open to working on climate change legislation in the past. Graham has been talking up a potential presidential run, though few think he’ll take the plunge.
Other Republicans facing potentially tough reelection campaigns, including Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.), all voted against the amendment.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who in the past has expressed openness to working on climate change legislation, did as well. Murkowski may face a primary challenge in 2014.”
The true lies buried beneath the semantics.
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/230316-senate-votes-98-1-that-climate-change-is-real
The Senate on Wednesday voted that “climate change is real and is not a hoax” as Democrats used the Keystone XL pipeline debate to force votes on the politically charged issue ahead of the 2016 elections.
The “hoax” amendment to the pipeline bill from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) passed 98-1, with only Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, the chairman of the Senate Republican campaign arm, voting “no.”
In a surprise, the Senate’s leading skeptic of climate science, Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), voted in favor of the amendment — but made clear he doesn’t believe humans are the primary driver of climate change..............
[SNIP]
Wednesday’s votes came after senators duked it out on the Senate floor in a wide-ranging debate over climate change and its relationship — or lack thereof — to the $8 billion pipeline project, which is undergoing federal review.
“It starts by admitting you have a problem, just like many other areas of human life,” Whitehouse said of Republicans’ skepticism on climate change.
Graham, who is mulling a White House bid, said the fact that climate change is real he “completely understand[s] and accept[s],” but as to the amount human are contributing, “I don’t know.”
“It does make sense that man-made emissions are contributing to the global warming effect — the greenhouse gas effect seems to me scientifically sound,” Graham said. “The problem is that how you fix this globally is going to require more than just the U.S. being involved.”
Graham has said in the past he believes climate change is occurring but scolded Democrats for using “gimmicks” and “tricks” that hurt their cause.
“You are undercutting a real genuine debate. You made climate change a religion rather than a problem. It is a problem,” Graham said...............”
And just 5 years ago a majority in the senate said, “if you like you doctor you can keep your doctor. If you like your insurance you can keep your insurance.”
Funny, I think it would've been not brought up for a vote. Isn't that what Dingy Hairy Reed did to Republican proposals?
Reason # 11,437 why I am not a Republican.
Of course countries like Red China contribute to environmental problems.
The question is whether the US does. And it does not.