A petition drive to con Lehrer into bringing up the issue with the presidential candidates appears to be banking on the flip-flops of Governor Romney’s position, but this could backfire in the most spectacular way if Romney issues a mea culpa on who gave him advice on global warming when he was governor, and if Romney asks why Lehrer’s PBS NewsHour has not told its audience about the skeptic side of the issue for 16+ years.
I inadvertently came across this small Time magazine online piece on Tuesday evening, “A Letter to Jim Lehrer“. It hit home for me, as I had sent an 1100-word snail mail letter to Jim Lehrer a year earlier, asking why skeptic climate scientists were never seen on the PBS NewsHour in debate with IPCC scientists.
Though I thought the Time piece was nothing more than a singular writer’s seemingly out of place spur-of-the-moment attempt to steer the October 3rd debate format, I should have known better *(see update below). Just a day later, I received a form letter email from Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project which urges everyone to sign their petition begging Jim Lehrer to ask both presidential candidates “How do you plan to address the climate crisis?”
The set-up here is easy to see for those knowledgeable of each candidate’s position, especially considering Obama’s DNC convention rebuttal of Romney’s swipe at Obama’s 2008 ‘slow the rise of the oceans’ statement.
Throw the ever-present problem of Romney’s mild change of heart about global warming, combined with the unavoidable fact that as governor of Massachusetts, he took environmental policy advice from Obama’s current science czar, John Holdren, an unapologetic promoter of the idea of man-caused global warming, and the set-up is in place to blindside Romney.
But wait. As I pointed out at length last November, John Holdren is also the same person involved in White House efforts back in 1998 to marginalize skeptic climate scientists, and is also a person with highly questionable associations with enviro-activists who have every appearance of being the epicenter of the smear of skeptic climate scientists.
And Jim Lehrer’s PBS NewsHour is a news outlet that has every appearance of avoiding skeptic climate scientists’ viewpoints at all costs.
Put these two together together, along with ever-increasing evidence of desperate efforts to salvage an issue that is dying from a thousand cuts (e.g “global warming=drought” not working out, misbehaving polar ice, uncertainty about climate models, and unraveling assessments about skeptics, to name just a few), and Romney has exactly what is needed to blindside Lehrer, Gore and President Obama.
Considering VP candidate Paul Ryan’s position, Romney may be reasonably well aware of the fatal flaws in the issue, so skeptics of man-caused global warming might then whole-hardheartedly agree with Gore and his Climate Reality Project.
By all means, Jim Lehrer, bring on the questions about global warming.
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* (9/14/12 Update): I’m getting dumb in my old age. Not only did I initially think the Time writer that I mention above was just doing a spur-of-the-moment letter to Lehrer, I also assumed she was just a writer at Time with no nefarious associations.
Wrong. I failed to read her article’s bio link, which nicely points out “She is currently a co-founder with the Environmental Defense Fund of a new organization, Moms Clean Air Force, an education and advocacy movement…”
And EDF’s version of the Lehrer petition is right here.
Unfortunately we can count on Romney to dance around the topic, not directly confront Obama and to sing the praise of ” all of the above” when it comes to energy. Expect to her ex-senator Norm Coleman’s comment that he is in favor of fixing AGW but not at the cost of ruining the economy.ie don’t take a stand on anything.
This one is easy. Just tell the truth, point out that there has been no rise in global temperatures since the 1990’s and that data was suspect. Then point out that many scientists are afraid to present descanting views for fear of being fired or ostracized in the scientific community. Then drop the bomb and point out that Man Made Global Warming Theory is the McCarthyism of our time. Lehrer would either stroke out or drop a load in his pants. I am sure Al Gore would go buy out the nearest Krispy Kreme and polish off the inventory.
Terrifying. Republicans tend to go wobbly on environmental matters and greatly fear bad words from the environmentalists.
Reblogged this on Climate Ponderings.