Haley Barbour: Global Warming "Moderate"
There's a lot to like about Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, but today's story at Fox News is causing me dyspepsia:
Haley Barbour: We Should 'Proceed in National Policy as if Global Warming Is Actually Happening'
ABC News' Michael Falcone reports:
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Potential presidential candidate Haley Barbour appears to be staking out a moderate position on global warming than some of his possible rivals, saying at an event in eastern Iowa on Friday that the country should "proceed in national policy as if global warming is actually happening."
Barbour, who has consistently opposed regulation of the energy industry, made the comments in response to a question from an Iowa voter who asked the Mississippi governor whether he thought global warming was real.
Can a presidential candidate endorse "national policy" defined by centralized control of energy consumption and be considered a limited-government conservative? And why is it now a bipartisan practice to ignore mounting evidence of scientific fraud when discussing the non-disprovable hypothesis of anthropogenic global warming?
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Jun '10
Re: Haley Barbour: Global Warming "Moderate"
Newt disqualified. Barbour disqualified. Who's next?
May '10
Re: Haley Barbour: Global Warming "Moderate"
Scratch him off my list - the Republican nominee cannot be an anti-science zealot.
Jul '10
Re: Haley Barbour: Global Warming "Moderate"
Well, if I was interested in being fair to Governor Barbour, I would note that he went to say, "...but we don't have to destroy the American economy for no positive results to do that."
But frankly, I'm not interested in being fair to the Governor. He's just a typical politician who thinks he can have it both ways.
Edited on March 26, 2011 at 11:00pmFeb '11
Re: Haley Barbour: Global Warming "Moderate"
The question should not be if he thinks global warming is real. It should be "Do you think global warming is real and if so, is it a bad thing?"
The follow-up is "Do you think it is caused by humans?"
Edited on March 26, 2011 at 11:09pmJun '10
Re: Haley Barbour: Global Warming "Moderate"
Ditto all of the above. No one can speak about AGW as if it's happening when its NOT happening!
Re: Haley Barbour: Global Warming "Moderate"
Kenneth, what rattles me is the seeming preemptive surrender on a principle of major importance. Once we all "agree" that the central government must control energy use, the American project--we are the only nation explicitly founded to limit such government power--is essentially over.
If a bipartisan "national policy" is to use coercive power to restrain individual behavior "causing" global warming then the only remaining argument is over what sort of industrial policy is least harmful. I don't much fancy supporting a Party where the upside scenario is that we will cripple freedom a little less than the other team.
We need to affirmatively roll back statism, including enviro-statism, in order to reignite economic growth and save our country. That's the point Gov. Barbour should be making.
Jul '10
Re: Haley Barbour: Global Warming "Moderate"
George Savage
We need to affirmatively roll back statism, including enviro-statism, in order to reignite economic growth and save our country. That's the point Gov. Barbour should be making. · Mar 26 at 3:22pm
To heck with principles. There are independent, environmentally-conscious voters to be wooed.
Jun '10
Re: Haley Barbour: Global Warming "Moderate"
Thanks for the info. I am a big fan of Barbour's BUT now I will be interested to see how he and his organization spin this.
I agree with all the concern above -- but I am not willing to write him off until I know more. Hope springs eternal for us true believers, I guess. It is a Luddite position, for sure, though.
May '10
Re: Haley Barbour: Global Warming "Moderate"
The good news is now I have fewer names from which to choose.
May '10
Re: Haley Barbour: Global Warming "Moderate"
I've made no secret of my high regard for Governor Barbour, but color me mystified.
Dec '10
Re: Haley Barbour: Global Warming "Moderate"
Well, scratch Governor Buford T. Cornpone off the list.
Global warming "moderate"? Citizens Council just another civic group? What's next? I know, how about proposing a ban on "assault weapons" again? That will at least get you a few votes from the media.
Feh.
Re: Haley Barbour: Global Warming "Moderate"
Larry Koler: Thanks for the info. I am a big fan of Barbour's BUT now I will be interested to see how he and his organization spin this.
I agree with all the concern above -- but I am not willing to write him off until I know more. Hope springs eternal for us true believers, I guess. It is a Luddite position, for sure, though. · Mar 26 at 3:30pm
Larry, I sure hope the Guv is just being clever on this one, the stop-global-warming-but-don't-hurt-the-economy formulation being a null set. But I worry that failure to argue the pro-science, pro-freedom side of the coin--the failure to articulate the conservative argument--gives too much to the other side.
And I'm tired of being on defense all the time.
The greatest thing about watching Reagan from my cramped Boston apartment in the '80s was the tingle I got hearing my argument, the conservative argument, made and made well.
Edited on March 27, 2011 at 12:35amMar '11
Re: Haley Barbour: Global Warming "Moderate"
OK, I like Haley. Always have. But these are dire times. I want someone to fight Washington, not moderate. Grab the bull by the horns, remind us that we are a union of States. Someone who loves the free flow of energy, prosperity, liberty and the potential of each individual citizen. Perhaps an oilman or cattleman. Yes, a Texan. Rick Perry, call your office. America needs you!
Jun '10
Re: Haley Barbour: Global Warming "Moderate"
George: I voted for Carter in 1976, but switched during the 1980 compaign and I remember that it was after the 2nd debate that I firmly made my change to the Republicans. I was so impressed with Reagan's clarity and, really, the force of his personality. I trusted him. The last Democrat I voted for was Scoop Jackson in 1982.
But, I remember another time that I was absolutely thrilled in a similar manner to what you describe and that was when I first heard Rush Limbaugh in 1988 on a Saturday filler show where they had his reruns available for introducing him to this market. Everything he said was a breath of fresh air to my lonely exile here in Seattle, with only National Review to keep me company.
Jun '10
Re: Haley Barbour: Global Warming "Moderate"
Someone help me on this one:
1. Even if global warming is as bad as some of the semi-sane alarmists say it is, I've never seen any study that suggests that the U. S., even by completely tanking its economy, can have anything but a statistically insignificant impact on the problem. China and India, to name just to two biggest, are not going to tank their economies. If that's true, anything we do is empty symbolism that causes real economic harm. How does that help Barbour?
2. People rank global warming/climate change way down the list of things they worry about: right now what they worry about is "the economy, stupid." Why, then, would Barbour attempt to separate himself from the pack on this issue? It can't help him with the base. Either Barbour is really smart or really dumb on this issue. What's baffling is that Barbour tends to have very good political instincts. Dumb position for him to take.
As of now, he's off my list.
Feb '11
Re: Haley Barbour: Global Warming "Moderate"
I was going to comment, "Scratch that one off the list", but half of Ricochet beat me to it.
The great advantage of interminably long campaigns is that sooner or later candidates slip up and accidentally blurt out some of the ridiculous things they believe.
Dec '10
Re: Haley Barbour: Global Warming "Moderate"
If it was him or JugEars™, I'd vote for Barbour, but otherwise, he falls into the same category as Newt, Romney, Huckabee, and a dozen others (IE washed up, pandering, squishy wastes of oxygen).
Anyone who still believes in AGW is welcome to come down here and shovel away the ~8" of Global Warming Evidence that has accumulated on my driveway since this morning.
It's still falling too (in, as Forest Gump would say, "Big Ol' FAT Snow Flakes"), so by the time you arrive, it could be upwards of 10" of Evidence. Don't worry, the manual labor will keep your warm.
It's a pity too, 'cause I was really looking forward to a little Global Warming.
It's always 110° F here in the summer, so two or three more degrees won't make a lick of difference, but two or three more degrees would eliminate a good portion of the snow and ice we get every year, which would make me do a little happy dance.
But alas, fraud it was, and now we have snow drifts in the last week of March.
BAH!
May '10
Re: Haley Barbour: Global Warming "Moderate"
This is sad, but it still places him on the "bearable" side of the "climate change" divide. If it's happening, we need to do something about it.
Well, there's no real evidence it's happening, so...
This is the tack that maximizes votes. Is it cynical? Possibly.
Re: Haley Barbour: Global Warming "Moderate"
Larry, I had the very same experience of running across the radio Limbaugh. It was January 1992, I was home from work for a few days to get over the shock of a death in my immediate family. After a few days of listlessness, I managed to get up out of bed and go for a jog. I tuned the local sports channel, KNBR, and happened on a broadcaster with a strange name--"Rush?"--and was absolutely amazed because he was talking like me (like a much more polished and erudite me, but my views just the same). I was hooked.
Feb '11
Re: Haley Barbour: Global Warming "Moderate"
FAIL FAIL FAIL.
I've always been a fan of Barbour going back to 1994 when he was RNC chair.
So add me to the list of those baffled by this statement.
I can see the political ads now: Even the GOP believes global warming is real!! Yet they don't want to do anything about it- because of eeeevil Big Oil and their eeeevil money!!!
And Barbour- should he be the GOP nominee- gets to be asked continuously why he took all the oil money not to fix global warming. MSNBC hosts will shriek that he should be sent to prison forever. Conservatives will wonder- like right now- why the heck we can't have a GOP nominee that won't give away the store at the first opportunity.
Outside of the political, what the heck does this even mean? Does Barbour now support carbon taxes? If not, why did he say what he said? Does he think the GOP base will won't notice this, especially since his rivals will no doubt repeat it to all of us?
He's off my list too.