How USA Republican party became hardened in their opposition to government rules to combat climate change in past few years
How G.O.P. Leaders Came to View Climate Change as Fake Science, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/03/us/politics/republican-leaders-climate-change.html, June 3, 2017
The above article has some interesting views though I don't know how much of its views will be challenged by USA Republican (G.O.P.) party leaders. Some of the key points it makes are:
1) In June 2008, Republican candidate (and then Republican nominee) for president, Senator John McCain, put out a campaign Ad. that praised him as somebody who "sounded the alarm on global warming" in opposition to then USA president George W.Bush's stand. McCain also supported environment protection policies. Here's the youtube video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E1nB-3l4GE, 32 seconds, uploaded Jun 16, 2008. In it, we have a pic of a news article titled, "McCain climate views clash with GOP" above which McCain is shown speaking, and a voice over says, "John McCain stood up to the president and sounded the alarm on global warming five years ago". The voice over then says, "Today he has a realistic plan that will curb greenhouse gas emissions, a plan that will help grow our economy and protect our environment."
2) Since 2008 the scientific evidence for dangerous global warming has become stronger. Some scientists have linked it to some problems in the USA like tidal flooding in Miami.
3) The growing scientific consensus led many countries worldwide to sign climate agreements.
4) Mr. Trump went against this trend by exiting the USA out of Paris Agreement and received support from Republican party leaders and party members for it. The article claims that "every member of the elected Republican leadership" praised this decision of Trump.
5) It claims that Republican lawmakers were prodded on this path by fossil-fuel industry leaders, notably billionaires Charles D. Koch and David D. Koch. It quotes Charles Koch as saying government rules to combat climate change are "making people’s lives worse rather than better", and that such governmental efforts would make "very little difference in the future on what the temperature or the weather will be."
6) The article claims that now it is risky for Republican (lawmakers) to speak in favour of combating climate change. But there are exceptions like a Republican House representative Carlos Curbelo from Florida who says, "South Florida residents are already beginning to feel the effects of climate change in their daily lives."
7) It claims that the USA Supreme Court's Citizen United decision and other related decisions that removed restrictions on corporate campaign finance, enabled Koch Industries and Americans for Prosperity orgn. to start an all out campaign including TV ads and social media, to help protect the fossil fuel industry from new regulations to curb pollution.
8) The article then goes on to make some rather scary allegations that these groups targeted USA lawmakers who were working on climate change legislation and tried to replace them with legislators who stayed away from such climate change legislation!!! This is an extraordinary charge!
9) Before the 2010 USA elections, 165 congressional candidates and members had signed the No Climate Tax pledge of Americans for Prosperity. After the November 2010 election, eighty three of the new ninety two members of Congress had signed that pledge! The November 2010 election was viewed by a senior person of Americans for Prosperity as "a clear rejection of policies like the cap-and-trade energy taxes that threaten our still-fragile economy".
10) USA president Obama, after getting re-elected in 2012, used the executive authority route, bypassing Congress, to push a Clean Power Plan that closed hundreds of coal-fired power plants viewed as heavy polluters. This was harshly viewed by many Republicans, and by blue-collar workers of coal and oil industry in the USA.
11) In early 2014, 28 state attorneys general combined with industry leaders opposed to these new Obama administration regulations on energy sector, and took the legal route to challenge these regulations. Scott Pruitt was the attorney general of Oklahoma and was among those in the forefront in this effort against the Obama administration energy industry regulations.
12) Donald Trump in his 2016 election campaign championed the cause of coal miners and became hugely popular among coal miners.
13) After Trump became president, he invited Scott Pruitt to head the E.P.A. (Environment Protection Agency) whose environmental rules Pruitt was fighting legally in 2014 and perhaps in later years as well! Pruitt could now remove those environmental rules as the EPA head!
14) In March 2017, President Trump, through an executive order, directed Pruitt to unwind the (Obama administration) Clean Power Plan!
15) As Trump was debating on whether to exit the Paris Agreement or not, Pruitt was one of the key persons who supported exiting the Paris Agreement (along with Steve Bannon). Those who wanted Trump to stay in the agreement included Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, who seemed to be concerned with the diplomatic fallout of exiting it. Eventually Trump went along with Pruitt and Bannon, and got the USA out of the Paris Agreement.
[I thank nytimes.com and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me having made the above notes post from their article on this matter of great human concern. This post is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
The above article has some interesting views though I don't know how much of its views will be challenged by USA Republican (G.O.P.) party leaders. Some of the key points it makes are:
1) In June 2008, Republican candidate (and then Republican nominee) for president, Senator John McCain, put out a campaign Ad. that praised him as somebody who "sounded the alarm on global warming" in opposition to then USA president George W.Bush's stand. McCain also supported environment protection policies. Here's the youtube video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E1nB-3l4GE, 32 seconds, uploaded Jun 16, 2008. In it, we have a pic of a news article titled, "McCain climate views clash with GOP" above which McCain is shown speaking, and a voice over says, "John McCain stood up to the president and sounded the alarm on global warming five years ago". The voice over then says, "Today he has a realistic plan that will curb greenhouse gas emissions, a plan that will help grow our economy and protect our environment."
2) Since 2008 the scientific evidence for dangerous global warming has become stronger. Some scientists have linked it to some problems in the USA like tidal flooding in Miami.
3) The growing scientific consensus led many countries worldwide to sign climate agreements.
4) Mr. Trump went against this trend by exiting the USA out of Paris Agreement and received support from Republican party leaders and party members for it. The article claims that "every member of the elected Republican leadership" praised this decision of Trump.
5) It claims that Republican lawmakers were prodded on this path by fossil-fuel industry leaders, notably billionaires Charles D. Koch and David D. Koch. It quotes Charles Koch as saying government rules to combat climate change are "making people’s lives worse rather than better", and that such governmental efforts would make "very little difference in the future on what the temperature or the weather will be."
6) The article claims that now it is risky for Republican (lawmakers) to speak in favour of combating climate change. But there are exceptions like a Republican House representative Carlos Curbelo from Florida who says, "South Florida residents are already beginning to feel the effects of climate change in their daily lives."
7) It claims that the USA Supreme Court's Citizen United decision and other related decisions that removed restrictions on corporate campaign finance, enabled Koch Industries and Americans for Prosperity orgn. to start an all out campaign including TV ads and social media, to help protect the fossil fuel industry from new regulations to curb pollution.
8) The article then goes on to make some rather scary allegations that these groups targeted USA lawmakers who were working on climate change legislation and tried to replace them with legislators who stayed away from such climate change legislation!!! This is an extraordinary charge!
9) Before the 2010 USA elections, 165 congressional candidates and members had signed the No Climate Tax pledge of Americans for Prosperity. After the November 2010 election, eighty three of the new ninety two members of Congress had signed that pledge! The November 2010 election was viewed by a senior person of Americans for Prosperity as "a clear rejection of policies like the cap-and-trade energy taxes that threaten our still-fragile economy".
10) USA president Obama, after getting re-elected in 2012, used the executive authority route, bypassing Congress, to push a Clean Power Plan that closed hundreds of coal-fired power plants viewed as heavy polluters. This was harshly viewed by many Republicans, and by blue-collar workers of coal and oil industry in the USA.
11) In early 2014, 28 state attorneys general combined with industry leaders opposed to these new Obama administration regulations on energy sector, and took the legal route to challenge these regulations. Scott Pruitt was the attorney general of Oklahoma and was among those in the forefront in this effort against the Obama administration energy industry regulations.
12) Donald Trump in his 2016 election campaign championed the cause of coal miners and became hugely popular among coal miners.
13) After Trump became president, he invited Scott Pruitt to head the E.P.A. (Environment Protection Agency) whose environmental rules Pruitt was fighting legally in 2014 and perhaps in later years as well! Pruitt could now remove those environmental rules as the EPA head!
14) In March 2017, President Trump, through an executive order, directed Pruitt to unwind the (Obama administration) Clean Power Plan!
15) As Trump was debating on whether to exit the Paris Agreement or not, Pruitt was one of the key persons who supported exiting the Paris Agreement (along with Steve Bannon). Those who wanted Trump to stay in the agreement included Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, who seemed to be concerned with the diplomatic fallout of exiting it. Eventually Trump went along with Pruitt and Bannon, and got the USA out of the Paris Agreement.
[I thank nytimes.com and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me having made the above notes post from their article on this matter of great human concern. This post is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
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