The Republican presidential debate from last week provided important hints on how the GOP candidates may handle the global warming issue.
The Republicans did not debate the issue as much as they debated what would be the costs and consequences of the current President’s call to save the planet. Analysts interpreted this move as a good strategy to pass over the issue to the Democrats. Surveys already show that the vast majority of Americans do not see global warming as important as the country’s economy.
In the second presidential debate of the Republicans, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, and Florida Senator Marco Rubio disputed whether it is possible to deal with the climate change issue. The three candidates, who are all right behind Donald Trump in the presidential polls, directly attacked President’s Obama ambitious prescription, which concentrates on a nationwide carbon pollution limitation from power plants.
Sen. Marco Rubio said that they are not going to destroy their entire economy like the left-wing government is attempting to. Rubio criticizes Obama for trying to make America an even harder place to create jobs in order to change the climate. The Florida Senator adds that the weather has nothing to do with the country’s economy.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie agreed with Rubio, adding that the kind of massive intervention prescribed by President Obama will not be as effective to reduce emissions as the left-wing believes. Christie gave his state as an example, which was able to reduce pollution levels without taking any drastic measures. Scott Walker added that the president’s ambitions would destroy a large number of manufacturing jobs in his state, Wisconsin. Some other candidates proudly proclaim themselves to be global warming skeptics. One of them is the Senator of Texas, Ted Cruz.
The Republican debate was tweeted by Vermont Senator Bernard Sanders, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination. Sanders challenged the Republicans in his post, saying that the GOP is nothing more than a party of science deniers. The senator live-tweeted on the debate, and even after it ended, he kept on the offensive: “The debate is over. Climate change is real and caused by human activity. It’s already causing devastating problems around the world.”
Not only Sanders have criticized Republicans of denying the science of climatic change, Hillary Clinton and former Governor of Maryland, Martin O’Malley have made accusations.
The global warming issue remains in the spotlight, as President Obama will meet Pope Francis this week. The Pope released an encyclical that asked the United States and other major countries to take immediate action on the issue of climate change.
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