Astroturf Young Republican Environmental Group Gobsmacked By Candidate Answers On Climate

[hatrack]

Gee, did the Clue Bus just pull in?

Republicans “deserve to lose” electorally if they can’t show they care about the climate crisis, according to the head of a conservative climate organization that put forward a rare question on the issue to GOP candidates in Wednesday’s televised debate. The Republican presidential hopefuls, minus Donald Trump, were asked at the Fox News debate what they would do to improve the party’s standing on climate policy by Alexander Diaz, a young conservative who is part of the American Conservation Coalition (ACC), a youth conservative group that pushes for action on the climate crisis.

Asked by the moderators for a show of hands over whether climate change is real, none of the candidates did so, with one, Vivek Ramaswamy, the far-right businessman, declaring that the “climate agenda is a hoax”. Two other candidates, Tim Scott and Nikki Haley, accepted the well-established scientific reality of global heating but looked to shift the blame to other major carbon polluters, such as China, and even, in Scott’s case, to Africa, which is responsible for about 3% of the world’s emissions. Benji Backer, founder and executive chairman of ACC, said the question on climate was “historic” and highlighted the desire among young Republicans for their leaders to take the threat of global heating seriously.

“That we didn’t get an immediate hand raise speaks to how much work we have left to do; young people will never vote for a candidate that doesn’t believe in climate change,” he said after the debate. “We’re not going away, we are normalizing this as part of the Republican conversation. Republicans deserve to lose if they are climate deniers and don’t have a plan.”

EDIT

The specter of Trump, the clear frontrunner for the Republican nomination despite his various criminal indictments, still haunts Republicans when it comes to dealing with the climate crisis, according to Bob Inglis, a former Republican congressman who now advocates for conservative action on climate. “At the debate last night the future called to the present and the present seized up in fear – the candidates couldn’t answer the future’s call because they are in fear of a certain constituency in the party and the person who leads that,” Inglis said.

EDIT

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/24/republicans-climate-crisis-debate

[Lovie777]

1. OK..............

color me not surprised by their disappointment crapola. Young, middle age, seniors know exactly what their party represents and are in total agreement.

[elias7]

2. Republican environmental group? What an oxymoron.

Republicans are in denial about climate change, as if it’s something you can choose to believe in or not. Their long standing stance on deregulation of environmental protections, looking to destroy the EPA, continuing oil company subsidies, rejection of earmarking lands for preservation and national parks in favor of despoilation through mining and drilling.

These people would be better of bing Democrats and pushing realistic conservatism into the agenda

[Ray Bruns]

5. They're kinda like Log Cabin Republicans. They pretend they are changing the system from the inside

Oblivious to the fact that the majority of the party hates their guts.

[hatrack]

6. And Teh Stoopid in this election cycle is is too much even for them . . .

Which leads me to conclude that their whole organization is just another rung in the Wingnut Welfare Career Ladder, with coat of light green paint.

If they were serious about climate, why the fuck are they Republicans?

[3Hotdogs]

3. That, and the gun issue was gas lighted.

Guns? When the topic was brought up, not one of them uttered the word, gun.

Instead --

Crime and George Soros elected prosecutors that are pushing soft bail reform. Do the people on the stage think that kids doing shooter drills aren't aware that guns are a problem?

[BComplex]

4. The oil industry totally owns the republican party. Republicans answered 9/11 by going after Iraq

instead of the actual perps, the Saudis, should tell these young people everything they need to know, but it doesn't. It looks like even republican spawn are absolutely clueless about the cost of being OWNED, and letting dark money rule the USA.

Until we get dark money out of our politics and elections, the world will continue to become hotter than hell, and may very well be hell.

[Seinan Sensei]

7. Bought and paid-for

That, according to the “annoying freshman roommate” (Vivek).
All of them.
Including and especially the “annoying freshman roommate”

[czarjak]

8. "Changing from the inside"?

If you're already in The Belly of the Beast, that's not happening. The ONLY thing Rushbo was right about: "People are what they are. You can't change people."