. I can’t decide between “Why do conservatives hate your children?” and “Why do conservatives hate children?” Your ideas are welcome (but first see polling below).
Fundamentally, anti-science conservatives are now the cement shoes on the American people, pulling us down into the ocean hot, acidic dead zone. If that wasn’t clear before (see “Hill conservatives reject all 3 climate strategies and embrace Rush Limbaugh”), House Republicans codified their opposition to climate action today.
CQ Politics reports that the House GOP “offered six principles Wednesday that they say will guide them as they formulate an alternative to the president’s ambitious plans”:
The principles reflect the minority’s long-held views. GOP leaders said they will oppose any tax increases, either on income or energy, and will fight a cap-and-trade program to curb carbon dioxide emissions in order to combat global warming. Instead, the Republicans reiterated their “all of the above” energy proposals that stress new domestic oil and gas production and development of alternative energy sources.
Here we have in one paragraph the essence of conservatives’ long-held energy policy — the Big Energy Lie and the willful effort to destroy the health and well-being of your children and grandchildren and 50 generations after that:
The claim that conservatives support “all of the above” energy proposals that include development of alternative energy sources is the “Big Energy Lie” (see The Big Energy Lie — Blog round-up). Conservatives, even “moderate” ones, have consistently opposed R&D funding, incentives, and standards to promote alternative energy for over a quarter century (see “The greenwasher from Arizona has a record as dirty as the denier from Oklahoma” and “Who got us in this energy mess? Start with Ronald Reagan” and “Why is our energy policy so lame? Ask the three GOP stooges.”).
Needless to say, if you can’t raise the price of dirty energy (or pass strong carbon-control regulations), there is no possibility whatsoever of stopping greenhouse gas emissions from rising, let alone have a chance of cutting emissions sharply and stabilizing atmospheric concentrations at levels that won’t destroy a livable climate for the next 1,000 years. The House GOP principles inevitably lead to 1000 ppm and catastrophic 5.5–7°C warming by 2100.
How should progressives — or indeed anyone — respond to this brazen act of immorality?
I’m inclined to go with “Why do conservatives hate your children?” or “Why do conservatives hate children?” in part because of the major survey I blogged about yesterday (see “Major survey finds overwhelming public support for action on global warming and clean energy”).
Here is the key part of one figure:
Here is another key figure:
People care about their children and grandchildren, about all life, and about human health. That is indeed what makes us human. By embracing their six principles, House conservatives have rejected their humanity.
Yes, it is always important to take on their indefensible economic argument directly, as NRDC’s Laurie Johnson does in this great post, “Newt’s Voodoo Economics.”
But I also think it is crucial to reframe the issue. How would you do that — pithily and persuasively?
Related Posts:
- RNC head Steele: “The supposed warming, and I am using my finger quotation marks here, is part of the cooling process…. It was once called Greenland for a reason…. Oh I love this.”
- Notes from the conservative stagnation, Part 10: Grover Norquist
- New GOP energy message — same as the old GOP energy message
- 64% of GOP voters say Palin is their top choice for 2012, 69% say Palin helped McCain
- Krauthammer, Part 2: The real reason conservatives don’t believe in climate science
- The Deniers are winning, but only with the GOP
- The intellectual bankruptcy of conservatism: Heritage even opposes energy efficiency
- The American Enterprise Institute: Still crazy with denial and delay after all these years
- The intellectual bankruptcy of the Cato Institute
- Can This Planet Be Saved? Not if conservatives rule
- George Will nails the difference between conservatives and progressives
