Conservatives Believe Climate Change is a Wedge Issue to Create More Government Red Tape

September 14, 2016 – So says Susan Wright in an article posted online yesterday in RedState. The article is entitled, “Trump Tilts Further Left With His Climate Change Stance,” and Wright is unequivocal in accusing the Republican candidate of being perfect for the Democrats.

She leaps to this conclusion because in his latest response to a questionnaire, Trump states “there is still much that needs to be investigated in the field of ‘climate change.'” He goes on to state “perhaps we should be focused on developing energy sources and power production that alleviates the need for dependence on fossil fuels.”

To Wright who is obviously shocked by these Trumpian statements the Republican presidential candidate has changed his suit from one that is Republican to whatever.

The truth is that Conservatives (aka Republicans in the U.S. context) see climate change as a real problem. John McCain when running for President back in 2008 stated, “global warming presents a test of foresight, of political courage, and of the unselfish concern that one generation owes to the next.” In that same year former Republican Governor of Utah, and Ambassador to China, Jon Huntsman Junior stated, “Until we put a value on carbon, we’re never going to be able to get serious about dealing with climate change.” In 2015, the U.S. Senate voted 98-1 for an amendment that stated climate change is real, not a hoax. Fifteen Republican senators voted on another amendment which stated humans play a role in climate change, and five voted on one that specifically acknowledged humanity’s significant contribution to climate change.

So one wonders why the current Republican presidential candidate is seen as tilting left on the issue when it appears that much of Republican orthodoxy very much believes the link between human activity and global warming.

At the recent Republican National Convention conservative groups were described as staging a rearguard action to have the party adopt a plank acknowledging the dangers of climate change and criticizing climate change deniers. A television advertisement paid for by the Partnership for Responsible Growth reminded Republicans at the convention that the party had accepted climate science. The group even took out ads in the Wall Street Journal admonishing its stand on climate change.

A spokesperson for ConservAmerica, a Republican-aligned group stated, “the default position should really be that even if you are skeptical about the climate change, let’s minimize our carbon footprint and our pollution anyway.”

Hard to believe but most Conservatives in the United States are quite convinced by the science, they just don’t seem to be politically convinced in the way they cast their votes.

A final note, Fox News, probably the least newsworthy of networks, and a big supporter of climate change denial experts, has been spoofed in a television advertisement that is a mockumentary. You can watch it here.