It’s unavoidable: Republicans are currently against the United States taking action against global warming. It’s as simple as that.
No matter what your political ideology, global warming action makes sense for America. Solutions to global warming will create jobs, foster economic growth, increase energy independence, and improve national security. And, the vast majority of younger American’s take the existence of global warming and need for solutions as undeniable fact. Republicans are increasingly seen as the party of obstruction.
The Republicans are causing themselves a public relations nightmare that will unfold over the next 20 years. Because of its fifty-year history of opposition to equal rights and immigration, the Republican Party is shunned by minorities just as America’s minority populations explode. The same will be true for global warming. Eventually, America will become actively involved in real global warming solutions. The longer that takes, the worse the political fallout will be for the Republican party.
Not all Republicans are against global warming solutions. One reason Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is so popular in California that he has bucked his party and taken a stance against global warming. “We simply must do everything we can in our power to slow down global warming before it is too late. The science is clear. The global warming debate is over.”
Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) has also gotten on board: “I have been to enough college campuses to know if you are 30 or younger this climate issue is not a debate. It’s a value. These young people grew up with recycling and a sensitivity to the environment — and the world will be better off for it. They are not brainwashed. … From a Republican point of view, we should buy into it and embrace it and not belittle them. You can have a genuine debate about the science of climate change, but when you say that those who believe it are buying a hoax and are wacky people you are putting at risk your party’s future with younger people.” (As quoted in a New York Times Op-Ed piece by Thomas Friedman)
“Drill, baby drill” makes a nice chant, but most Americans weren’t fooled into believing it was sound energy policy. Still, the Republican Party seems all too ready to double down on a losing energy strategy in the next election cycle. There is no doubt the Republicans would pick up needed independent votes if they—like Sen. Graham—began framing global warming solutions in terms of investment in innovation, job creation, energy independence, and national security. They will change their tune eventually, I just wonder how much damage they will do–to themselves and the world–before they change it.