In February, the Republican
Party of Virginia produced an ad titled 12 Inches of Global Warming,
which cited last winter’s heavy East Coast snowstorms to ridicule a
pair of Democrats who voted for climate change legislation. The clear
message of the ad was that the snowy winter in Virginia disproves
global warming.
Now that the Northern Hemisphere has, according to NOAA, sweated
through the warmest spring in recorded history, can we expect to see a
similar ad from the Virginia GOP ridiculing those who voted against the
climate legislation?
Probably not, but it is important that top party officials, such as
Chairman Pat Mullins, be asked: why not?
If the Virginia GOP truly believes the premise of its February ad—that
short-term weather variations prove or disprove climate science—then it
should be consistent and change its tune on global warming. If not,
then why did the party run a disingenuous ad?
This kind of cavalier and overly politicized approach to important
issues is not in the nation’s or the Republican Party’s best interest.
It does not lend itself to thoughtful solutions to our nation’s
problems. It undermines serious debate, elevates politics over
substance, and ultimately backfires.
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele’s 2008 effort to
simplify our complex energy challenges with the glib slogan "drill,
baby, dri" at the time probably seemed like a shrewd way to politically
exploit $4-per-gallon gas prices, but much less so today as the party
risks being tarred with the refrain, "spill, baby, spill."
Likewise, the 12
inches of Global Warming ad seems much less clever as we
enter the sizzle of the summer months on track for the warmest year
since official records started being kept in 1880. Perhaps someone in
the party should have realized that summer heat can easily melt away
the chill of winter by the time fall elections roll around.
Of course, the party would not need to worry about the variability of
the weather if it would approach our energy and climate issues with the
seriousness they deserve.
