Republican goes from climate change denier to promoting conservative climate solution

by Ben Reilly Sun Feb 12, 2017 8:38 pm

Former Republican congressman Bob Inglis knows something about the cost of climate change – it included his job.

A conservative from South Carolina's Republican heartland, he initially thought – assumed – the science of climate change was nonsense.

"I didn't really know anything about it except that Al Gore was for it and, as I represented one of the most conservative districts in the most conservative states in America, that was really the end of the inquiry," he says.

But when he decided to run again for Congress in 2004, five years after vacating his seat, his son Robert told him he had to "clean up his act on the environment", so he joined the House of Representatives science committee and joined fact-finding trips to Antarctica and the Great Barrier Reef.

On the former, he was shown ice core records that illustrated global warming. On the latter, he saw coral bleaching and formed a bond with Townsville oceanographer Scott Heron that triggered what Mr Inglis, a devout Christian, describes as a "spiritual awakening".

He went home and introduced the Raise Wages, Cut Carbon Act of 2009. It sank, and in 2010 Mr Inglis lost preselection amid a Tea Party-led backlash.

Undeterred, he helped create RepublicEN, a group of conservatives and libertarians committed to free-enterprise solutions to climate change.

It is a push that is gaining some momentum. George Schultz and James Baker, both former Republican secretaries of state and Treasury secretaries, last week wrote an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal setting out the case for a "conservative answer for climate change" using a similar model to that proposed by Inglis. It came as a group of prominent Republicans and business leaders met with senior White House advisors to pitch the idea.

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/the-us-republican-spreading-the-conservative-case-for-acting-on-climate-change-20170212-guayfh.html

Aside from the annoying tendency of Republicans to believe in just about any problem so long as they can take credit for fixing it, this is heartening news.

by Andy Sun Feb 12, 2017 8:46 pm

That's his lot.
Trump will have him arrested as a traitor. Find him guilt of treason without trial and will give him a death sentence. After all, Trump is above the law.
He writes it. Because he is a dictator.

by Ben Reilly Sun Feb 12, 2017 8:56 pm

I thought this quote really said it all:

"I didn't really know anything about it except that Al Gore was for it and, as I represented one of the most conservative districts in the most conservative states in America, that was really the end of the inquiry," he says.

So he took his position of leadership so lightly that because his constituents hated Al Gore, he dismissed the ever-growing evidence that we're endangering life on Earth without even looking at it.

I don't know, maybe we don't deserve to survive if this is what our species has become.

by 'Wolfie Mon Feb 13, 2017 2:48 am

AS WELL represented by Tommy, DYKbrain and NoIndependentThoughts across various threads on here, the typical natural reactionary and unthinking behaviour of the alt.right/Teabagger/neo-nazi crowd is to deny, deflect and distort whatever's placed in front of them...

Those three resident far-right denialists, with their constant hand-wringing whinging and whining, traitors to their own countries, always sucking up to their fascist, racist corporate overlords.

And when any right-winger sees the light, and starts speaking out against the greed-fuelled demagogues, we see the the far right turning on their own, as ably shown in the O/P..

by nicko Mon Feb 13, 2017 8:23 am

Before you get too complacent Wolfie, I suggest you GOOGLE mistakes of the "Australian Government" You will find that your country is not as good as you think it is. Veya should do the same.

by 'Wolfie Mon Feb 13, 2017 9:11 am

DIDN'T say Oz's guvm'nt is all that good all the time, nicko...

Nor even necessarily "the best" overall (I'll leave those claims of being "the greatest" to some of your lot on here..). Though Oz does still "have the runs on board" in some firlds..

Just BETTER than a few, in a few select areas ! cyclops

Nobody can claim to have a gov't that doesn't make mistakes (unless, of course, it's DYK, Tommy and Stormee defending the Thatcher regime..).

And for the record, I don't vote for the conservative gov'ts down here..

pirat

by nicko Mon Feb 13, 2017 9:16 am

Did you read about those "mistakes" Wolfie?

by 'Wolfie Mon Feb 13, 2017 9:39 am

nicko wrote:

Did you read about those "mistakes" Wolfie?

I ssume you're referring to this article, nicko ???

http://www.ipa.org.au/publications/788/australia's-13-biggest-mistakes

The IPA is a right-wing think tank, helping set policies for the extreme far-right of the LNP, financially backed by big businesses, including Rupert Murdoch in the midst of it all..

Central to their agenda is driving down wages, removing the minimum wage; destroying the union movement, public education, the social welfare system, and Medicare..

Like Thatcher, Reagan and Trump, they are supporters of gov't with a smaller public sector but a larger control sector (i.e. police and military..); increased "free market" economies along with abolishing social welfare "safety nets" -- a true 'laissez faire' market-driven system.

If the IPA had their way, housing, healthcare and food would only be available to those who can afford it..

I wouldn't trust anything that comes from the Institute of Public Affairs...

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Institute_of_Public_Affairs

https://www.ipa.org.au/

by eddie Mon Feb 13, 2017 10:15 am

Well I watched that "global warming for dummies" video and also read the article and I cannot see how anyone can argue that global warming doesn't exist?!

by veya_victaous Mon Feb 13, 2017 10:18 pm

Umm yeah Completely disagree with Rupert and Gina's 'IPA'

Gina should be taxed to Oblivion(that's being kind), she has spent decades avoiding paying her fair share, she has made billions through over mining and NOW is trying to corrupt gov't to get more money Openly said Australians should be paid Africans wages so her companies are more profitable.

They want to import all the social inequity from the USA so they can turn Aussies into virtual slaves like they have done to US citizens.

And WHY are we still mining so much coal for power. cause Gina pays the political parties to under fund renewable resources.

She is a scourge upon our nation. the environment and the world, All so she can make more money. she is poster child of everything that is wrong with the capitalist system and lobbyists.

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Republican goes from climate change denier to promoting conservative climate solution

Republican goes from climate change denier to promoting conservative climate solution

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Re: Republican goes from climate change denier to promoting conservative climate solution

Re: Republican goes from climate change denier to promoting conservative climate solution

Re: Republican goes from climate change denier to promoting conservative climate solution

Re: Republican goes from climate change denier to promoting conservative climate solution

Re: Republican goes from climate change denier to promoting conservative climate solution

Re: Republican goes from climate change denier to promoting conservative climate solution

Re: Republican goes from climate change denier to promoting conservative climate solution

Re: Republican goes from climate change denier to promoting conservative climate solution

Re: Republican goes from climate change denier to promoting conservative climate solution