Posted on 01/15/2012 1:52:57 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
This morning on “Meet the Press,” former Speaker Newt Gingrich repeatedly insisted that he and the other candidates should be evaluated based upon their respective records.......
Gingrich personally prevented property-rights-protective reforms of the Endangered Species Act from passing the House and then gave one of the most liberal members of the Republican caucus and environmental activist groups a de facto veto over environmental legislation. These machinations were documented in an article in The Environmental Forum, a magazine published by the Environmental Law Institute — an article Gingrich cited favorably in his own book on environmental policy. Does Gingrich still believe he made the right choice? What should conservatives make of this part of his record? Are there any other candidates who betrayed conservative principles so directly and with equivalent results?....
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
These words describe almost perfectly the intellectual and rhetorical bearing and style of Newt Gingrich. Only they weren't written about Gingrich. They are Barack Obama's words -- from The Audacity of Hope -- about former Ambassador Alan Keyes, Obama's Republican opponent in the 2004 election for Illinois' open Senate seat.
I was struck by two things as I recently watched old footage of the 2004 Obama-Keyes debates. First, Keyes comes across as a better debater than Obama. He seems more polished, smarter, and more confident than Obama. Keyes' verbal fluency makes Obama's use of verbal fillers and stutters, his repeated words and incomplete and restarted sentences, all the more noticeable.
The second thing I noticed were the striking similarities between Keyes and Gingrich. Keyes is more theatrical than Gingrich, while Gingrich is more overtly egoistic and self-reverential. (He has at various moments called himself "the most serious, systematic revolutionary of modern times" and a "definer of civilization.")
But the two share many characteristics. For one thing, they both hold Ph.D.s (Keyes in government, Gingrich in history). Perhaps this helps explain why both Keyes and Gingrich have a tendency to talk down to opponents and debate moderators. Keyes was antagonistic toward the Illinois journalists who moderated the Senate debates, cutting off questioners and reacting harshly when moderators told him his time was up.”…..
Katharine Hayhoe, an atmospheric scientist at Texas Tech, confirmed in an e-mail interview that she had been asked to write a chapter on climate change for the former House speaker’s book. She said she was approached by former Palm Beach Zoo CEO Terry Maple, Gingrich’s coeditor, at an annual meeting of Republicans for Environmental Protection. Asked to confirm her chapter was dropped, she replied, “I had not heard that.”
The climate-change issue arose on Thursday night at a Gingrich campaign stop in Carroll, when a woman expressed concern about the chapter. She said she had heard about it on Rush Limbaugh’s radio program. As she began to tell Gingrich who the author of the piece would be, Gingrich interrupted. “That’s not going to be in the book,” he told her. “We didn’t know that they were doing that, and we told them to kill it.”
Hayhoe, whose husband [Andrew Farley] is an evangelical pastor, recently wrote a book about climate change from an evangelical perspective. In an interview with Christian writer Jonathan Merritt, she left no doubt as to where she stands on the existence or the cause of the phenomenon.
“Among climate scientists—people who spend their lives researching our world—there is no debate regarding the reality of climate change and the fact that humans are the primary cause,” Hayhoe said in the interview. “It is primarily laypeople, such as talk-show hosts, or those with vested interests in maintaining the status quo, who are perpetuating the idea that there is no scientific consensus.
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Katharine Hayhoe is the Texas Tech professor that Rush was talking about on his show - the one writing the climate chapter in a book Newt Gingrich is putting together for 2013 (?). Ways to answer skeptics on climate change...."A great place to start is to check out our Creation Care Book Store and pick up a few books like Ed Brown's Our Father's World, Katharine Hayhoe's A Climate for Change¸ Jim Ball's Global Warming & The Risen Lord, Ben Lowe's Green Revolution, Jonathan Merritt's God's Plan for the World¸ and/or Cal Dewitt's Earth Wise. All of these book layout a basic biblical frame and narrative for a Christian view on creation."....
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That first LINK write up made me think of "Creation Care" and low and behold Newt's choice to write his Climate Change chapter is tied to it -- AS IS NASA global warming "scientist," James Hansen who is an adviser to "Creation Care.
James Hansen believes that CEOs should be put on trial for crimes against humanity and that "contrarians" should be silenced. Audio
Sigh. You know, it would be helpful if we had context and specifics on what was in the bill he rejected, before leaping to judgment about it, “oh Newt supported environmental legislation, how dare him!”
This sounds to me like a crock of crap.
Hansen has ruined the careers of several former NASA employees for nothing more that having the integrity of challenging his Global Warming positions.
Hansen is a sorry excuse for a scientist.
Understanding facts and context is a load of crap?
Troll.
National Review Online has minimal if any credibility as far as I’m concerned.
He is not a great my choice for the highest office in the nation.
I am not surprised at this revelation about his prior policy positions.
His crybaby tirades and condescending tone in the debates as well as his 'mistakes' have taken him out of serious contention.
[snip]
GINGRICH TARGETED BY CONSERVATIVES FOR LEFT-WING ENVIRONMENTAL RECORD
American Tradition Partnership distributes “Power-Grabbing Newts” to CPAC attendees, highlights his radical liberal record
WASHINGTON – America’s largest grassroots opponent of radical environmentalism is taking aim at former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s outspoken support of increased taxes and government power at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.
The group is distributing “Power-Grabbing Newt” toys, a sticky gel lizard, and a list of 25 quotes from three of his latest books calling for increased government power and taxation to seek what he calls “environmental compliance.”
“The Power-Grabbing Newt, an invasive species once limited to parts of Georgia and the Speaker’s chair, has been introduced to the CPAC habitat, and it looks to extend its reach into the White House,” said ATP Executive Director Donald Ferguson.
“If it taxes like a liberal, regulates like a liberal and spends like a liberal, it’s a liberal. And Newt Gingrich is a liberal. Gingrich’s demands for new environmentalist federal agencies, using the tax code to engineer what he calls ‘environmental compliance’ and calls for global regulatory conferences are liberal threats to people, property and prosperity,” said Ferguson.
The quotes are pulled from Gingrich’s books, “A Contract With The Earth,” Winning The Future” and “Real Change.” The quote sheet is attached.
Supported by grassroots activists, American Tradition Partnership is a fast-growing national conservative organization fighting the liberal agenda of environmentalism, and its calls for increased government power and taxation.
BIG GREEN GOVERNMENT 101
WHO SAID IT? NEWT GINGRICH OR AL GORE?
A POP QUIZ FROM AMERICAN TRADITION PARTNERSHIP (AmericanTradition.org)
Hint: These are all recent Newt Gingrich statements.
I WAS A GREEN PUPPET WHEN IT WASN’T COOL: “When I first ran for Congress I was the natural candidate of most environmental groups…” Newt Gingrich, “Winning The Future,” Page 168
CREATE GLOBAL SPENDING REGIMES: “If the United States challenged Europe and Japan to join it in financing a world biodiversity refuge system and tied foreign aid into the process of maintaining biodiversity, we could probably save a very high percentage of the earth’s biological richness…” Newt Gingrich, “Winning The Future,” Pages 170-171
SPREAD THE WEALTH, TO GREENS: “The United States should support substantial research into climate change, managing the response to climate change, and in developing new non-carbon energy systems.” Newt Gingrich, “Winning The Future,” Page 171
PUT DC IN CONTROL: “The federal government should establish measurable standards for a healthy environment…” Newt Gingrich, “Winning The Future,” Page 172
CASH FOR CLUNKERS? MORE, PLEASE: “A tax credit to subsidize energy efficient cars (including a tax credit for turning in old and heavily polluting cars) is another idea we should support.” Newt Gingrich, “Winning The Future,” Page 174
INDOCTRINATE THEM YOUNG: “As a young professor at West Georgia College, I taught in the second Earth Day in 1971 and coordinated an interdisciplinary environmental studies program.” Newt Gingrich, “Real Change,” Page 196
NEWT ENDORSES ‘CASH FOR CLUNKERS,’ AGAIN: “There ought to be a tax break for trading in old cars that use a lot of petroleum and emit a lot of pollution.” Newt Gingrich, “Real Change,” Page 204
WE MUST PROTECT THE ESA “That is why I worked so diligently as Speaker of the House to protect the Endangered Species Act, historic legislation that has been mired in controversy…The Endangered Species Act is an excellent example of the value of civility, consultation and collaboration.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Pages XII & 51
THE EARTH NEEDS A GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER “Government, at all levels, should be a facilitator for entrepreneurial, private-sector innovations and the formation of private-public environmental partnerships.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 13
STOP THE CONSERVATIVES FROM LIMITING GOVERNMENT POWER “For that reason, we have supported its (the Endangered Species Act’s) continuation against all challenges by private citizens, interest groups, and congressional opponents.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 53
CREATE NEW GOVERNMENT SPENDING PROGRAMS “The U.S. government operates endowments for the humanities and the arts…Perhaps, it is time we consider a new endowment for conservation and the environment.” “Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Pages 115-116 [NOTE: As Speaker, Gingrich told conservatives he wanted to eliminate the wasteful National Endowment for the Arts. Now he cites it as an example of a government spending spree that needs to be duplicated.]
SPEND ‘SIGNIFICANT’ TAX MONEY IN THE U.S., AND AROUND THE WORLD “Significant resources should be set aside to protect hallowed sites such as the Galapagos Islands, the Virguna Volcanoes in Central Africa, and Georgia’s Okenfenokee Swamp, to name a few.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 117
MILITANT ENVIRONMENTALISM…LITERALLY? “John Muir, for most of his adult life, experienced nature in spiritual overtones…He even favored using the armed forces to enforce environmental law…However, with the inexorable advance of the urban realm, the defense of forested land assumes a greater urgency as we strive to sustain the highest-quality standards for our nation’s air, water, and land.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 127
HOORAY FOR RECORD-BREAKING SPENDING HIKES! “Our national parks and wildlife reserves require more vigorous protection. With an eye toward strengthening his environmental legacy in the 2007 federal budget, President Bush requested the largest increase for national park funding in our nation’s history. We should expect nothing less than excellence from our national park system.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Pages 130-131
ENVIRONMENTALISM, OUR GLOBAL RELIGION OF PEACE “Far from becoming a new source of global discord, environmentalism, which binds nations to a common concern, will be the best thing that’s ever happened to international relations.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Pages 149-150
GLOBAL GOVERNANCE IS THE SOLUTION “We will need to organize a series of high-level global conferences that focus on specific [environmental] problems…” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 158
GOVERNMENT IS THE ONLY SOURCE OF INNOVATION “…the type of arduous research that produces real breakthroughs can only be funded by astute governments.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 167
NEWT WANTS TO BRING BACK CARTER ENERGY POLICIES “America used to be that kind of government [that spent millions of tax dollars on “energy research” welfare programs,] but our commitments have wavered in recent years so government incentives for energy research will be issues in future political campaigns.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 1
+667
NEWT LOVES THE UN’S KYOTO TREATY GLOBAL APPROACH “Mobilizing other countries to join us will not be as easy as it may appear. Many of the countries that signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol are lagging behind on their commitments.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 168
STOP CONSERVATIVE OPPOSITION TO THE ESA “The act [Endangered Species Act] has been, by any measure, a very successful guardian of wildlife and habitat and any attempt to weaken it should be resisted.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 170
NEWT INVENTS A NEW DISEASE ONLY ENVIRONMENTALISM CAN CURE “…our children, according to Louv, run the risk of acquiring ‘nature deficit disorder,’ a malady that he describes as a contributing factor to a recognized mental health construct, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. Nature deficit disorder, not yet acknowledged by scientists or clinicians, is a working hypothesis that Louv believes helps to explain the onset of ADHD, and he proposes that exposure to nature should be offered as a therapy for children who have difficulty attending to stimuli and learning in conventional classrooms. His call for research in this domain is compelling.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 182
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS SHOULD REDISTRIBUTE INCOME TO ‘STIMULATE’ GREEN COMPLIANCE “Local governments operate much closer to the origin of environmental problems, and they have begun to provide tax incentives and large cash rewards for environmental compliance…While the motivation is driven by the application of tax dollars, the effect is rewarding rather than punitive…” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 194
DON’T CUT GOVERNMENT, JUST MAKE IT NICER “…our government, at all levels, must be modernized to successfully partner, let alone compete, with the private sector.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 196
MAN-MADE CLIMATE CHANGE IS A FACT “We agree that there is plenty of evidence that global climate change is occurring…While humanity is certainly causing its fair share of the change, scientists are still not able to precisely pinpoint the extent of the change, or the margin of error in their estimates.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 200
GIVING TAX DOLLARS TO LIBERALS IS OUR ONLY HOPE “In spite of the demonstrated liberal leanings in academia, we have nothing but respect for the nation’s scientists. They represent America’s best hope to protect the environment. We support a dramatic increase in science and technology research and development because we desperately need to understand global climate change and other environmental phenomena.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 201
MOTHER EARTH NEEDS ALL YOUR INCOME “Needless to say, an appropriate and significant investment of public and private funding to renew the earth will pay dividends.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 202
http://www.p2012.org/photos11/cpac11/atp021111pr.html
Let’s see...no context, pull quotes, shrill tone.
Sorry, not convinced.
Maybe Perry should drop out and stop diluting the conservative field.
Newt is a dinasour being revived and to sell him as current, people have to dig back to his glory days of early 1990s. Even then, people find blemishes in him.
Oh well, Newt nightmare will be done soon I hope.
Ok, so you are a Perry backer, you don’t have to keep this crap up. Stop it.
You’re not going to build up Perry by tearing down Gingrich.
I’ve changed my mind. My preference was Perry first, Newt second. Now it is Newt first, Santorum second, and Perry 3rd.
Whatever floats your boat.
I’m showing Newt Gingrich’s record.
Just as I’ve been showing Rick Perry’s record.
Obama will be showing his opponent’s record and it will be broadcast by his state run media.
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