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Jim: jdipeso@rep.org
(253) 740-2066 / 2009
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Lindsey Graham Is a True Conservative October 14, 2009 No
doubt, Lindsey Graham has already heard about his climate change op-ed
from talk show reactionaries and their flunkies who think that climate
change is a Bolshevik plot.
All the more reason to acknowledge
Senator Graham as the true conservative among a crowd of poseurs who
have forgotten the stewardship ethic that lies at the heart of
traditional conservatism.
Graham’s op-ed, published under his and Senator John Kerry’s byline in the October 11 New York Times, has greatly improved the odds of climate legislation winning a 60-vote victory in the Senate this year.
In
their piece, Graham and Kerry chalked out the faint outlines of a
bipartisan climate deal – a cap on carbon emissions, accompanied by
extra inducements to develop nuclear power and open up selected areas
offshore to oil drilling.
There is plenty for all-or-nothing ideologues on the left and on the right to dislike.
Of
the two authors, Graham arguably has the tougher sales job. In talking
up a carbon cap to his constituencies, he must overcome a deeply
ingrained falsehood that environmental stewardship is not conservative.
One of Graham’s angles of attack is pointing to the national
security vulnerabilities of climate change and the closely associated
problem of foreign oil dependence. It’s a compelling argument that has
been taken up by retired generals and admirals with distinguished
resumes, including a former Army Chief of Staff and former deputy Chief
of Naval Operations.
As Graham points out, even if one has a
hard time accepting the science of climate change, there is no credible
argument that enriching creepy petro-regimes with what George W. Bush
called our addiction to oil will keep America safe.
As for
climate science, William F. Buckley once wrote, "Conservatism implies a
certain submission to reality." True conservatives face facts, take
risks seriously, and support prudent measures to reduce those risks.
That’s
what Ronald Reagan did two decades ago when he pushed through the
Montreal Protocol to begin phasing out chemicals that deplete the upper
atmosphere’s protective ozone layer. That’s what Lindsey Graham is
doing today.
Godspeed, Senator Graham.
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