MacIver News Service – The revamped, and repackaged global warming bill was unveiled in Washington, DC on Wednesday, but leading conservatives expect the environmental focus will be publicly downplayed.
“Environmentalist are like car alarms now,” notes Christopher Horner, Senior Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. “People hear them all the time but nobody pays attention.”
Horner, who two weeks ago warned that the bill would be introduced this month, says the ‘doom and gloom’ mantra has severely hurt the environmentalists’ credibility. Because of that, he explains, they now have changed tactics–packaging and marketing environmental bills as economic development proposals.
“Well now they realize it’s not selling, so they’re changing the title,” said Horner. “It’s exactly what they did in Wisconsin; I know it’s now called the Clean Jobs Bill, yeah, that’s it, it’s about jobs. No it isn’t it’s about power. These guys have always wanted to control your lives. “
The latest proposal by Senators John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) and Joe Liebermann (I-Connecticut) is expected be marketed as a pollution reduction and investment plan.
“Their [Environmental activists’] whole life is dedicated to claiming global warming is the greatest threat to mankind, except for all the others,” Horner says as he deconstructs the problem with that line of logic.
“Climate Change: The greatest threat facing mankind. Ok, great, so we’ll replace that coal with nuclear power right now, right, it’s the only thing we can do. But, your atoms, they frighten me. Ok, so millions will die [from global warming] but you atoms frighten you? I sense a moral tension there. So nuclear power is a greater threat than the GREATEST threat. Ok.
“Let’s go on down the list. Lot’s of dams, then right? No! We need to fish. Nature didn’t want our rivers to run that way. Ok, so dams, a greater threat than the greatest threat to mankind. How about Windmills? Well, ok, but just not where birds fly or where Kennedy’s live. Alright, so the Kennedy’s’ having their views ruined is a greater threat than the greatest threat facing mankind….and it goes on down the list”
Horner made his comments after appearing at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh earlier this month to deliver a speech sponsored by the UW-Oshkosh College Republicans and the Young America’s Foundation. He is the author of several books including Red Hot Lies: How Global Warming Alarmists Use Threats, Fraud, and Deception to Keep You Misinformed and the recently-released Power Grab: How Obama’s Green Policies Will Steal Your Freedom and Bankrupt America, which he describes exposé of the green movement’s rise to political power and the consequences of green-friendly energy mandates on the economy and social order of our nation.
Update: The Hill has posted an advance copy of the bill online, here.