Posted on 04/03/2012 4:53:24 PM PDT by SoConPubbie
Early on in the 2012 campaign Mitt Romney expressed support for global warming in various ways, the typical comment being this: “I believe the world is getting warmer, and I believe that humans have contributed to that.” He holds this belief despite the growing body of evidence that global warming theory is based upon false assumptions and despite the last two winters being among the coldest in recent history. Romney has also called for the Federal government to “reduce our emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases,” which is code, of course, for creating massive new government programs despite America’s air quality being among the cleanest in the world.
While Ann Coulter and other Romneyzoids claim “Romney is a conservative,” Romney has held liberal views on global warming going back a decade, with the exception of a few months during the ‘08 campaign in which he attacked Sen. John McCain on this issue. But Coulter also insists that Romney has “only flip-flopped on abortion” so we’re not supposed to know about this.
Yes, indeed, many voters seem to be unaware of that Romney ran for Governor on a global warming platform, invoking a variety of programs to address the issue. In 2004, Governor Romney initiated the “Massachusetts Climate Protection Plan,” a massive regulatory scheme attacked by just about every New England free market group due to the harmful effects it would have upon the state’s economy.
This plan morphed into a much larger regional plan called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), that Romney and ten other liberal Northeastern governors signed. The pact was actually organized and written by Romney staff members. The goal of the pact was to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by ten percent by 2019. It assumed, of course, that global warming theory was scientific fact and to carry it out its wide-ranging dictates, Romney hired Douglas Foy, a radical environmental activist.
Foy’s claim to fame was his notoriety for suing businesses for not complying with various draconian environmental regulations. Not surprisingly, RGGI was a disaster from day one and created such economic uncertainty that businesses began to flee the state. Indeed, the job creation record of Gov. Romney became the second worst in the country, another little known fact about the Romney record. Nevertheless, against all evidence, Romney announced that the RGGI was “good for business,” a statement which sounds eerily similar to Obama’s statements about alternative fuels being “good for business.”
As a result of the negative economic impact and a pressure campaign mounted by the business community, Romney eventually did pull out of the RGGI. However, shortly after quitting the regional global warming pact, Romney initiated new state regulations that essentially did the same thing RGGI was planning to do: a series of damaging emission regulations targeted at power plants.
In an actual Romney administration press release in possession of this writer, Romney boasts that “Massachusetts is the first and only state to set CO2 emissions limits on power plants.” Another historic first by Mitt Romney! Romney did more than any Democrat governor to dramatically advance three of the left’s more important policies: Cap-and-Trade, gay marriage, and government control of health care. Congrats Mitt.
Incredibly, in preparations for these regulations, Romney proceeded to demonize the power plants, even claiming, “the Salem Harbor Plant is responsible for 53 premature deaths, 570 emergency room visits and 14,400 asthma attacks each year.” It turned out these were phony stats borrowed right out of extremist environmental propaganda. Moreover, the stats were based upon a theoretical model created by the American Cancer Society that had nothing to do with the Salem Harbor plant. Even though zero deaths were associated with this power plant, Romney held a press conference in front of it, and with all his extremist environmentalist friends present, recited these phony statistics while hysterically announcing, “that plant kills people.”
Bear in mind Salem Harbor was a legal power plant in full compliance with the law in every respect. Due to the impact Romney’s regulations had upon energy rates, the Salem Harbor power plant filed for bankruptcy two years later but was then purchased by Dominion Power. Foy later became a “super-secretary” in the Romney administration, responsible for overseeing the transportation, housing, environmental and energy agencies.
One of the most irresponsible treaties even proposed by the United Nations is the Kyoto Accord, which was an attempt to place draconian caps on energy emissions worldwide in the name of combating global warming. This goal remains one of the top goals of the international left. When Romney became a presidential candidate in 2007, his campaign website stated that a “Kyoto-style sweeping mandate, imposed unilaterally in the United States, would kill jobs, depress growth and shift manufacturing to the direct developing nations.”
But this statement was the height of hypocrisy since the RGGI was essentially a mini version of the Kyoto accord. Moreover, Romney even contradicted this statement a short time later when he stated in a speech, now on You Tube, that he would support the Kyoto Accord, as long as “the other developing nations are part of any effort to reduce Green house gases.” Elsewhere, Romney again stressed that “if you do it unilaterally, [referring to Kyoto treaty], without involving all the world, you’d impose on the American people a huge new effective tax….” So, in Romney’s worldview, the Kyoto Accord, along with its “huge new effective tax” on the American people is fine, as long as we involve “all the world.”
But that’s not all. One of the key elements of the Kyoto Accord is its funding mechanism that would involve a worldwide carbon tax. When asked at a May 2007 speech in Rochester about whether he would support such a tax, Romney responded, “Carbon tax? That’s something we’re looking into.” You’ve got to be kidding. He’s not even sure of his position on a carbon tax? But now Romney campaigns as an anti-tax warrior.
Incredibly, during the 2008 campaign Romney attacked Sen. John McCain for favoring a Cap- and-Trade program, even stating on Fox News that the “McCain-Lieberman [climate change bill] would depress the economy” and in the New York Times, he said that McCain’s “views [on climate change] are outside the mainstream of Republican conservative thought.” But Romney’s role in creating both a regional and state Cap-and-Trade program and his support of the Kyoto Accord, not to mention his recent statements in support of global warming theory, make a mockery of his criticism of McCain. It is clear Romney was attempting to portray himself as something he wasn’t. Once again, Romney has flipped-flopped on a critical issue confirming he doesn’t possess any core convictions. The only question is what job will Douglas Foy get should Romney win the White House? EPA director?
The only people who know Romney’s views on global warming are the people in his polling firm.
Great pix.
Most people get their views like they get a cold, it is given to them . Romney”s lead n delegates is solid proof of that.
Most voters hear the “he’s the most electable” mantra a couple of times and the vombie voters give no further thought to the facts. considering his positions on Cap and Trade or anything else would require them actually thinking and trying to understand it.
Most people get their views like they get a cold, it is given to them . Romney”s lead n delegates is solid proof of that.
Most voters hear the “he’s the most electable” mantra a couple of times and the zombie voters give no further thought to the facts. considering his positions on Cap and Trade or anything else would require them actually thinking and trying to understand it.
Obama gets the bling?
Well he is the boss of that pair.
Would that be a pair or a couple?
Well they do agree on gay marriage.
Yesterday, the Oklahoman reported that March 2012 in Oklahoma was the hottest month on record at 60.7 degrees (average).
It topped the record of 60.5 degrees set in 1910, over ONE HUNDRED years ago.
What was going on in 1910 that made March so hot?
Good grief, these globull warming people are just stupid.
Which view?
We know very little about Obama, why should we know anything about Romney?
We know very little about Obama, why should we know anything about Romney?
ABO.
To me, the real question we ought to ask is why does the GOP establishment back Mitt Romney..at least McCain had military service..Willard will play right into the class warfare mantra, especially his car elevator. Romney will have no credible way of taking on Obamacare. Romney has been on Obama’s side on core issues meaning abortion, gun rights, marriage, and others are off the table. This is the candidate to put Obama in another four years. It’s time to buck the establishment hard and focus on the Congress, because this is just a train wreck of a nominee..very disheartening.
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