Mitt Romney had an opportunity to reverse course on a crazy policy position: let the Earth get sicker and allow the oceans to keep rising (from global warming).
But yesterday he repeated his mocking of Obama's goal to do the opposite: heal the planet and slow the oceans' rise.
Environmental activists condemned Romney's remarks on "Meet the Press." Climate scientist Michael Mann, author of "The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars," wrote in an e-mail to The Huffington Post, "It is disconcerting that a major party presidential candidate would show such wanton disregard for the health of our environment. Mr. Romney says he wants to 'help the American people.' Yet he mocks concern over human-caused climate change, arguably the greatest threat humanity has ever faced."
Daniel Kessler, spokesperson for climate campaign 350.org, said it was ironic that Romney wants to help Americans, but not the planet Americans inhabit.
"Mr. Romney can crack all the jokes that he wants to, but his cynicism won't solve the problem," Kessler wrote to HuffPost. "Half of the country is in drought, and NASA says it's linked to climate change. If Mr. Romney finds that funny, then I think it's appropriate for people to question his leadership and commitment to truly helping the American people."
Further, Romney hasn't been telling the whole story about what Obama said. Here's the truth, something Romney and Ryan have a lot of problems with.
And for the record, what Obama actually said back in 2008 was:
If we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal….
Obama wasn’t making some narrow eco-pledge. He was saying he was in the race to help the American people in the short term and the long term. You can accuse Obama of failing to fight hard enough for the climate goal — and I often do — but not for making the pledge in the first place. Romney’s remark should be enshrined in the anti-science hall of shame.
For sure.
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