Top - Milosevic; Bottom - Newt
Posted on 04/10/2007 1:19:25 PM PDT by xjcsa
In a heavily hyped debate – one that environmentalist Democrats hoped would be a “smack down” on Republicans -- former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich disappointed them and conservatives alike when he declared that human activity was causing the Earth to warm.
The concession was made in a debate on global warming with Sen. John Kerry (D.-Mass.) today on Capitol Hill that was sponsored by the Brookings Institution and the RAND Corporation.
In his first portion of allotted time Gingrich said there were two undisputed areas of scientific consensus on global warming: that the earth is getting hotter and the warming had been caused by human activity.
At one point, Kerry asked Gingrich what he would say to conservatives like Sen. James Inhofe (R.-Okla.) who do not believe global warming is caused by human activity. Gingrich said, "The evidence is sufficient that we should move to the most effective possible steps to reduce carbon."
“We should be moving to develop all kinds of new green technology,” Gingrich said. He challenged Kerry to find market-based solutions to reduce carbon emission instead of increasing environmental regulations.
“Regulation and litigation are the least effective ways of getting solutions,” the former Speaker said. “Reshaping markets with incentives are the fastest way.”
Kerry argued that environment laws drafted with help from the United Nations have been successful.
Kerry said the laws were “needed to create the leverage and the market so they would go out and invest in the technology because they don’t invest without it.” Government regulation, he said “is the only way to invite people to make that investment.”
“We are not arguing bureaucracy and regulation. We are arguing whether putting a price on carbon is bureaucracy.”
Kerry said it was not. “This is not bureaucracy. You set the standard the market will set the price,” he said. “We all live in a world where we don’t pay for the cost. We don’t pay for the loss of fish, we don’t pay for the lost of these species. None of that is priced into the goods today.”
Before launching into his initial speech, Gingrich endorsed the book Kerry had co-authored with his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry "This Moment on Earth.".
“This is excellent, this is a very good book,” he said. “I would commend this book to anyone who wants to see local leadership make a difference.” Gingrich said he didn’t agree with “about 60% of it” but would urge others to “read it because it’s an example of individual local leadership against the odds.”
Gingrich’s concession was expected in many news circles as part of his long-shot strategy to run for President in 2008. He has said since last year that he would make a decision to run or not sometime in the fall of this year. He is planning to release a new book, "Contract with the Earth" this November that he co-wrote with conservationist Terry Maples.
Yesterday, in his weekly email newsletter “Winning the Future” Gingrich said that September 27 would be “Solutions Day.” This is to honor the 13th anniversary of his 1994 “Contract with America.”
Last week, Gingrich called the Spanish language a “ghetto language.” Immediately after the mishap, he recorded an extensive apology, in Spanish, directed to the Hispanic community that made available on YouTube. Last month, he revealed to Focus on the Family’s James Dobson that he had an extramarital affair on Dobson’s radio show.
In January, Gingrich appeared at a hearing conducted by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to talk about how to stabilize Iraq.
Too funny. Can it really be called a debate if they agree on the fundamental points?
I remember him standing with Hillary, pushing a federal program for medical records.
Anyone with a brain knows you don't want Hillary involved with ANY kind of personal files.
Newt went native long ago. He's a Beltway Boy now.
He didn’t say what % of GW is due to humans.
THe cycle will change in about 10-12 years, and the lefties will say their activism made the difference when the truth is people have little to do with this matter.
Even now, he's got just about the same stats in the FR poll as Hunter. Amazing.
I am disappointed in Newt.
Tells me everything I need to know about Newt.
He always rolls over/panders in the end. He did it with Bubba and with the Hildebeast. He is not presidential material in any way, shape or form; he is and would be quite weak.
He can talk a good game, though. Better to stay in the classroom where you belong, Newt.
I've always liked the way he spoke in a clear and apparently forthright manner. But after today, whenever this phoney comes on Fox or any other channel, he'll last on my monitor about as long as Geraldo does.
Hope you're reading this thread, Newt, you puke.
Well, Newt, lots of people are paying the price for fish that aren't even lost yet!
Just another reason to dislike him, as if there weren't enough. IMO, Newt is about one step above Dick Morris as an amoral political hack.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1795503/posts
DUNCAN HUNTER Champion of Property Rights and Real Free Trade!
http://towncriernews.blogspot.com/2007/02/newt-gingrich-conservative-not-on.html
I would agree. Too bad he didn't stop there.
Anyone who believes the global warming myth is inellectually unchaste...and disqualified to be POTUS.
Newt Gingrich co-sponsored H.R. 341 during the 1993-94 Congress, a bill offered by Rep. Gerry Studds (D-MA) that would not only have re-authorized the Endangered Species Act but would have strengthened it in ways that increase the potential for government abuse of landowners.
McCain was already out and Rudy likes to dress up in women’s clothes and wants tax paid abortions available for all. Today Romney (flat tax is unfair) and Newt (Mr. Greenjeans) joined them in my Republican primary garbage pail. In a later post on these boards I come to find Fred was a Linc Chafee man. Getting crowded in there. Who’s next?
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***he declared that human activity was causing the Earth to warm.***
Everybody quit eating beans. NOW!
With that out of the way, Newt should just retire from active politics and concentrate on teaching, writing books, and making money. Pandering to the Left is just earning him scorn from both sides.
“Gingrich has always been a disappointment; he’s never been able to quite live up to the hype.”
I’ve gotten a lot of grief on FR for saying that he’s not a conservative, he’s really a BIG GOV’T conservative, which is a different animal (i.e., it’s another name for ‘liberal’).
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