LIMBAUGH RIPS BUSH WHITE HOUSE OVER GLOBAL WARMING 'FLIP-FLOP'

Drudge Report ^ | 6/3/02 | Matt Drudge

[hchutch]

Just the headline

[KC_Conspirator]

The true history of George W. Bush's lean to the left only started about 3-4 months ago, sometime around in February or March. I am still at a loss for words about what the grand strategery is. Does he want to get the senate back? And if so why? He is not pushing any of his agenda he campaigned on before so why would that be important.

Is this a strategery for getting re-elected? It has to be since this nicey-nice is not rubbing off on fellow Republicnas and similar GOP'ers running on democrat issues are getting killed in the polls. This smells too much of Karl Rove.

[billybudd]

If you abandon your principles to win a position, what makes you think that the position can be made to advance those principles? After all, why would anyone in their right mind promote principles which had nothing to do with getting them to where they are? If the Republicans see that abandoning conservatism through "deals" and "compromises" works in getting them votes, then that's what they will continue doing. I don't understand this mentality that Bush and Republicans are inherently, naturally conservative, and what they do and how it affects them is only superficial. If Bush will continue to have the support of conservatives even after behaving like a socialist, then why should he wish to change his behavior and risk damaging his approval rating? Bush is not a god - he is a politician! All of what I'm saying has been proven time and time again over the past 10 years.

[borkrules]

What you just said. I'll let that stand as my final comment on the matter as well.

[garv]

I'm really PO'd because as best as I can tell I'm a right-wing kook, but nobody is letting me in on the conspirarcy. How do I get on the mailing list?

[TBP]

Here's the body of the item from Drudge:

LIMBAUGH RIPS BUSH WHITE HOUSE OVER GLOBAL WARMING 'FLIP-FLOP'

"It appears to be the hijacking of conservatism," Rush Limbaugh charged to the nation's largest radio audience Monday after President Bush apparently flip-flopped over Global Warming.

"George W. Al Gore, anyone?" Limbaugh slammed, just hours after the NEW YORK TIMES headlined "Climate Changing, U.S. Says in Report."

The TIMES revealed: "In a stark shift for the Bush administration, the United States has sent a climate report to the United Nations detailing specific and far-reaching effects that it says global warming will inflict on the American environment.

"In the report, the administration for the first time mostly blames human actions for recent global warming."

The report goes on to predict: A "disruption of snow-fed water supplies, more stifling heat waves and the permanent disappearance of Rocky Mountain meadows and coastal marshes."

"What's left of the conservative agenda that has not been offered up to democrats?" questioned Limbaugh, who has been an outspoken critic of the Global Warming theory.

Limbaugh explained: "I have not jumped across this divide, my friends. I thought about this last night when I became aware [of the NEW YORK TIMES story], and I thought what am I going to have to do? Am I going to have to go on the radio tomorrow and say , 'folks, guess what? I have been wrong about global warming. I've been wrong about it, the president says it is happening, human beings are causing it. I've been wrong.' I just can't because I don't think I am. I -- too many scientists out there whom I implicitly trust who have proven to me that these predictions are basically apocalyptic doom and gloom based on raw emotion. Even the global warming advocates to this day will not tell you it is definitively happening."

Developing...

[finnman69]

From the summary word for word, this is the FIRST paragraph under SCIENCE:

"Greeen house gasses are accumulating in Earth's atmosphere as a result of human activity, causing global mean surface temperature and subsurface ocean temperature to rise.While the changes over the last several decades are likely due mostly to human activities, we cannot rule out that a significant part is also a reflection of natural variability"

To continues it says:

Reducing the wide range of uncertainty inherint in current model predictions will require major advances in understanding and modeling of the factors that determine the sensitivity of the climate system. Specifcally this will involve reducing uncertainty regarding:
-the future use of fossil fuels and futre emissions of methane.
-the fraction of the future fossil fuel carbon that will remain in the atmosphere and provide radiative forcing versus exchange with the oceans or net exchange with the land biosphere.
-the feedbacks in the climate system that determine both the magnitude of the change and the rate of energy uptake by the oceans.
-the impacts of climate change on regional and local levels.
-the nature and the causes of the natural variability of climate and its interactions with forced changes, and
-the direct and indirect effects of changing distributions of aerosols.

Knowledge of the climate system and of projections about the future climate is derived from fundamental physics, chemistry and observations. Data are then incorporated into global circulation models. However,model predictions are limited by the paucity of data available to evaluate the ability of coupled models to simulate important aspects of climate. To overcome these limitations,it is essential to ensure the existence of a longterm observing system and to make more comprehensive regional measurements of greeenhouse gasses.

Evidence is also emerging that black carbon contains aerosols ,(soot) which are formed by incomplete combustion, may be a significant contributor to global warming, although their relative importance is difficult to quantify at this point. These aerosols have significant negative health impacts,particularity in developing countries.

While current analyses are unable to predict with confidence the timing, magnitude, or regional distribution of climate change,the best scientific information indicates that if greeenhouse concentrations continue to increase, changes are likely to occur. The U.S. National Resarch Council has cautioned, however, that "because there is considerable uncertainty in current understanding of how the climate system varies naturally and reaacts to emissions of greenhouse gases and aerosols, current estimates of the magnitude of future warnings should be regarded as tentative and subject to future adjustments(either upwards or downwards)." Moreover, there is perhaps even greater uncertainty the social, environmental, and economic consequences of changes in climate.

[B Knotts]

Ditto what you said. I volunteered for Bush, but that doesn't mean I have to agree with everything he does, nor does it mean I can't disagree forcefully with him at times.

And, frankly, he is living up to my expectations, which were not extraordinarily high. He still beats the heck out of Algore in at least some areas.

[Dane]

Also, congress confirmed Reagan's nominees because of the respect for the presidency and its administration

Uh no. Reagan's nominees were confirmed because he had a Republican Senate for six years(1981-1987). Remember Bork being "Borked" when the demos took control in early 87.

[B Knotts]

Do you know the secret handshake?

[marajade]

CFR is nothing... the courts will see to that. Besides it had huge support from both sides of aisle, no Pres would veto a bill that huge support the way that did.

You bought the lies about the stem cell stuff... Bush is against it...

[Mudboy Slim]

"All I know is it is damn hot and is hotter than I remember it being and I am no spring chicken. It is hot!"

It IS June, my FRiend. There will always be episodic regional evidence to the contrary, but all the studies I've read indicate that the overall climate change is minimal and tends to be used by the Left more for the furtherance of an all-powerful Federal Leviathan than to lower the actual temperatures of your locality, cajungirl. Richmond, VA's been ripped off in terms of decent snowstorms, too, but I can't say that's a result of me driving in a car that doesn't get as many MPG's as the Leftists would proscribe.

I think I'll take my young'uns to the pool this afternoon...to heck the Leftists!!

FReegards...MUD

[SteamshipTime]

Reagan immediately got tremendous political capital when the hostages were released the day he took office.

With 70% approval ratings, what, exactly, is Bush saving his political capital for?

As the stock market sputters along and the U.S. government hocks more of its citizens' productivity, these "wartime" approval ratings will fade, just like they did for his father. By that time, the conservative base will have eroded and Bush won't have anything to fall back on as his own policies continue to burden the economy.

[PhiKapMom]

Hmmmmmmm ... I am thinking this is the kind of thing our Founding Fathers wanted to avoid when they wrote the Constitution

It sure is but why let a little thing like the Constitution get in the way! I cannot believe what I read on here recently -- makes me wonder what site I am on sometimes!

[Mudboy Slim]

"You capitulate to liberals, and you alienate some conservatives AND you do nothing to prevent liberals from using the failures of these liberal policies to defeat you in the future."

BINGO!!! The Left will never be happy with Dubyuh no matter how far he veers to the Left...why alienate the base in attempting to do the impossible?!

FReegards...MUD

[garv]

As Howlin was gracious enough to point out, I have said nary a word about Bush on this thread. I was just intrigued that staunch Bush defenders would label Limbaugh and Hannity as "far right-wing". It helps clarify things to know where everyone is coming from.

[hchutch]

Then answer this question:
After Barry Goldwater lost in 1964, what was passed into law?

To have a CHANCE to advance your principles, you MUST win elections. That means you either have to have principles that a majority of people stand for, or you have to CONVINCE people to support you even though they might DISAGREE with some of those principles.

I'm all for standing for principles, but I'm also against political suicide charges.

[finnman69]

* secured passage through Congress of a $1.35 trillion tax cut
* gave working American's $100 billion stimulus tax cut
* largest increases in military spending since Reagan (14+% in 2003 budget)
* signed two military two pay raises; increased medical/housing benefits
* threw out the Kyoto protocol
* disposed of the ABM Treaty
* pro-life, anti-abortion President
* publically called for a right to life amendment to US Constitution
* eliminated taxpayer funding of overseas abortions
* has openly and strongly supported Taiwan
* designated N.Korea, Iran and Iraq, the Axis of Evil
* secured initial funding for a NMDS (SDI)
* promoted increases for off shore oil drilling
* strongly advocates drilling in ANWR
* pushed for building more nuclear power plants
* advocates reducing US dependency on oil imports
* repealed/froze many last minute Clinton EO`s
* proposed partial privatization of Social Security
* offered faith-based alternatives to traditional welfare
* stopped gov't funding for further destruction of human embryo's
* nominated conservative judges to the federal bench
* recognized 2ND amendment/RKBA as individual right, fully constitutional
* told Cuba/Castro trade embargo stays
* turned Russia into a strategic partner of the USA
* returned honor, dignity and trust to the Presidency
* has done an outstanding/remarkable job, leading America in the war on terrorism.
And in less then 17 months too.

Gore would not have done one of these things. Someone send this list to Rush.

[Dales]

*yawn*

[marajade]

I didn't assign them that label did I?

I just stated that maybe McCain wasn't so nuts after all when he came out against the religious right in SC.

[eraser X]

GLOBAL WARMING Climate

AN INTRODUCTION
According to the National Academy of Sciences, the Earth's surface temperature has risen by about 1 degree Fahrenheit in the past century, with accelerated warming during the past two decades. There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities. Human activities have altered the chemical composition of the atmosphere through the buildup of greenhouse gases – primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. The heat-trapping property of these gases is undisputed although uncertainties exist about exactly how earth’s climate responds to them. Go to the Emissions section for much more on greenhouse gases.

Our Changing Atmosphere
Energy from the sun drives the earth’s weather and climate, and heats the earth’s surface; in turn, the earth radiates energy back into space. Atmospheric greenhouse gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases) trap some of the outgoing energy, retaining heat somewhat like the glass panels of a greenhouse.
Without this natural “greenhouse effect,” temperatures would be much lower than they are now, and life as known today would not be possible. Instead, thanks to greenhouse gases, the earth’s average temperature is a more hospitable 60°F. However, problems may arise when the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases increases.
Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have increased nearly 30%, methane concentrations have more than doubled, and nitrous oxide concentrations have risen by about 15%. These increases have enhanced the heat-trapping capability of the earth’s atmosphere. Sulfate aerosols, a common air pollutant, cool the atmosphere by reflecting light back into space; however, sulfates are short-lived in the atmosphere and vary regionally.
Why are greenhouse gas concentrations increasing? Scientists generally believe that the combustion of fossil fuels and other human activities are the primary reason for the increased concentration of carbon dioxide. Plant respiration and the decomposition of organic matter release more than 10 times the CO2 released by human activities; but these releases have generally been in balance during the centuries leading up to the industrial revolution with carbon dioxide absorbed by terrestrial vegetation and the oceans.
What has changed in the last few hundred years is the additional release of carbon dioxide by human activities. Fossil fuels burned to run cars and trucks, heat homes and businesses, and power factories are responsible for about 98% of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, 24% of methane emissions, and 18% of nitrous oxide emissions. Increased agriculture, deforestation, landfills, industrial production, and mining also contribute a significant share of emissions. In 1997, the United States emitted about one-fifth of total global greenhouse gases.
Estimating future emissions is difficult, because it depends on demographic, economic, technological, policy, and institutional developments. Several emissions scenarios have been developed based on differing projections of these underlying factors. For example, by 2100, in the absence of emissions control policies, carbon dioxide concentrations are projected to be 30-150% higher than today’s levels.

Changing Climate
Global mean surface temperatures have increased 0.5-1.0°F since the late 19th century. The 20th century's 10 warmest years all occurred in the last 15 years of the century. Of these, 1998 was the warmest year on record. The snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere and floating ice in the Arctic Ocean have decreased. Globally, sea level has risen 4-8 inches over the past century. Worldwide precipitation over land has increased by about one percent. The frequency of extreme rainfall events has increased throughout much of the United States.

Increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases are likely to accelerate the rate of climate change. Scientists expect that the average global surface temperature could rise 1-4.5°F (0.6-2.5°C) in the next fifty years, and 2.2-10°F (1.4-5.8°C) in the next century, with significant regional variation. Evaporation will increase as the climate warms, which will increase average global precipitation. Soil moisture is likely to decline in many regions, and intense rainstorms are likely to become more frequent. Sea level is likely to rise two feet along most of the U.S. coast.
Calculations of climate change for specific areas are much less reliable than global ones, and it is unclear whether regional climate will become more variable.