Failed GOP 2012 Presidential Candidates on Climate Change

Republican’s confusion on climate change is well known, but this ignorance is not only a defining feature of those left in the GOP presidential race, it also applies to those who dropped out. Here are the views of three Republican candidates who are not longer in the 2012 race. At one time these candidates were viewed as the most promising contenders for the Republican nomination for President. The list of failed popular contenders includes Rick Perry, Michelle Bachmann, and Herman Cain.

Rick Perry

Governor Perry dismissed climate change as a ‘contrived, phony mess.’ Perry said that the “theory” of climate change is a hoax concocted by data-manipulating scientists to keep research money coming in to their projects. On August 17th, 2011, Perry said: “I think there are a substantial number of scientists who have manipulated data so that they will have dollars rolling into their projects…Yes, our climates change. They’ve been changing ever since the earth was formed. But I do not buy into, that a group of scientists, who in some cases were found to be manipulating this data.” In 2007 after Rick Perry parted ways with his former boss Al Gore, he said: “I’ve heard Al Gore talk about man-made global warming so much that I’m starting to think that his mouth is the leading source of all that supposedly deadly carbon dioxide.” As an amusing side note Perry’s nick-name used to be “crotch” because he wore tight fitting pants.

Michelle Bachmann

As the Chair of the Tea Party Caucus Rep. Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota knew that she could not even consider climate change science. She has made statements like “It’s all voodoo, nonsense, hokum…” In 2009, Bachmann said there’s no reason to worry about carbon dioxide because “Carbon dioxide is natural…It is not harmful. It is a part of earth’s life cycle. And yet we’re being told that we have to reduce this natural substance and reduce the American standard of living to create an arbitrary reduction that is naturally occurring.” As a side note Bachman paid $30 each for 6OOO voting tickets in Iowa, she won with around 4000 votes, meaning that a third of those votes she paid for did not vote for her.

Herman Cain

Cain considers climate change to be “a scam.” Cain derided Democrats for falling for the “scientifically manufactured results” that support the science of climate change. This is no longer a controversy. This is conclusive,” he said. Cain also calls green energy a joke, declaring to a group of Iowans this spring, “I have studied it!” Cain claimed that solar and wind could provide at best “5 percent of our energy needs.” As a side note Cain was eventually forced to withdraw due to numerous allegations of sexual harrassment. He also was seriously challenged on economic and foreign policy issues, he once referred to Uzbekistan as “Uz-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan.”

In addition to their peccadilloes, these three failed GOP candidates for president share a common disdain for the facts on climate change.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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