by John Brown's Ghost
For the last few years, many of us have been screaming from the frozen mountaintops that global warming is a farce intended to make lots of money for those that are warning of ocean covered coasts and melting ice sheets. Profiteers like Al Gore have been showing slide shows to our kids, making goofy movies and trying to funnel billions if not trillions of dollars into their pockets.
These people, I understand. They are money grubbing idiots who's intents are easily seen (at least if you are not wearing green eyeglasses).
What has been frustrating are Republicans who claim that those on the right side (I contend that in this case "right" means correct) of the global warming argument are turning away young voters. I don't know how many conversations that I've had with Republicans who tell me that if we hug the "skeptic" message on global warming, we risk being viewed as an old fuddy-duddy party.
Really?? Is that your final answer? Care to change that before I continue the rest of this article? Last chance.
This last week has been a watershed moment in time for us "skeptics". It has been widely reported that hundreds of e-mails from the Climate Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia were hacked and are now out on the internet for viewing. The CRU is perhaps the most influential source of research for the global warming crowd. While dozens and dozens of great websites have done varying levels of analysis on the hacked e-mails, one of the best and easiest to understand is from Bishop Hill. Click here to review.
What these e-mails show is a systematic attempt to fudge data, affect the political process, silence "skeptics", and show utter contempt for the scientific process. Some of the most fundamental aspects of Al Gore's rantings have come from data that is now shown to be in question from the distribution of these e-mails. The scope and severity of the problems with the CRU is truly breathtaking.
So here is what I'm wondering. Will those groups that tried to tell all of us Neanderthal conservatives how wrong we were going to change their tune? Are they going to tell us that we still need to reach out a green handshake to young people or will they admit that maybe we need to show skeptical young people that have already seen how often politicians will lie through their teeth just to get their votes, that we are going to stand for truth?
Maybe we should tell young people that are going to be swimming in a soup of their parents' and grandparents' debt brought on by elected officials offering bountiful government programs that we now want them to waste their tax money paying for "environmental" solutions that won't work and are based on lies.
Will groups like Republicans for Environmental Protection stop praising politicians that want to "go green", which in many cases means just throwing away green pieces of paper that feature portraits of Jackson and Grant? Maybe they can stop defending politicians such as Lindsey Graham, who just want to make nice with the liberals in Congress.
Being a party that stands on the mantel of protecting freedom, means that we have to build that mantel on the truth. Going along with the global warming hysteria just because it feels good, or it makes us look compassionate, or it will get us supporters, doesn't lead to a long term success. It will only lead to a future for our children and those same young people that we are courting which will include paying for our folly.
