Global Warming Cannot Replace Iraq

FACT: The Earth is warming

FACT: Mankind is contributing to the warming of the Earth.

Those two things are not debated by anyone. Both sides of the aisle agree. What’s in disagreement is the degree to which Americans are heating the Earth. This is a secondary and moot point. Since a warming Earth is a problem and since mankind in general is contributing, mankind can help reduce this problem by changing the ways of humanity and we should.

The political debate erupts when Democrats like Al Gore or the mass media try to convince us that the sky is falling, that it’s Americans’ fault and that the only way to prevent the end of the world is to tax Americans. It’s at that point where division occurs along party lines but this division is based more on the idea of taxation vs. budget cuts than it is about whether or not the Earth is warming and mankind is contributing. This political divide is not accidental. It is deliberate.

Democrats have no core issue that will draw voters to the polls in 2008.

In 2002, it was Iraq and the War on Terror.

In 2004, it was Iraq, the War on Terror, and ABB; Anybody But Bush.

In 2006, it was Iraq.

In 2008 President Bush will not be on the ticket and opposition to a non-candidate will not draw crowds of Democrats.

In 2008, opposition to the war in Iraq will not draw crowds of Democrats to polls since the 2006 Democratic promise of “A New Direction In Iraq” was an admitted lie. DNC leaders knew it was impossible when they promised it and it is being proven as impossible now to those who bought the lie. No Democratic legislation can pass the House, survive a Senate filibuster, and survive a veto threat, so no Democratic legislation on Iraq can pass.

Additionally, the Democratic Party frontrunners for 2008-Senator Clinton and Senator Obama-have already switched their demands for Iraq troop withdrawals to include only “combat troops,” and both have admitted that they will keep tens of thousands of American troops in Iraq. These tens of thousands of troops will be “reconstruction,” “training,” “logistics,” “support,” and “Special Forces;” i.e. troops doing the same thing as most of the troops in Iraq today, but re-designated as non-combat troops in a “situation” instead of a war.).

Non-binding resolutions passed by the House and not the Senate are not binding incentives to get crowds of Democrats to the polls in 2008. Failure to completely pass Iraq withdrawal legislation through the House, Senate and past the President will not get crowds of Democrats past “GO” let alone to the polls in 2008. Perhaps this is why the latest Gallup polls show that the only thing that’s lower than President Bush’s approval rating (33%) is the Democratic-controlled Congress’ approval rating (28%).

Democratic Party leaders need a new draw and so they’ve rolled out Al Gore to make an issue out of something that shouldn’t be a partisan issue. It doesn’t need to be a partisan issue. They did this exact same thing with the Iraq War when they rolled out Al Gore on 9/23/02. Now they’re doing it with Global Warming.

Mass media types are given the choice as well. They can either: continue to focus on the Iraq War and continue to suggest “action” (which now means encouraging Democrats instead of just Republicans to magically make things better in Iraq), or they can topic shift. With Democrats searching for a spotlight to put Al Gore and their topic shift into and with mass media looking to shine the spotlight on anything other than accountability to Congressional Democrats the perfect political/media show is made.

Or is it? Will Al Gore start a green movement in the US whereby we all seek to stop flying our private jets around the country and we all unilaterally cut out home energy expenses to 1/20th of what they are today (at all four of our homes) or will Americans look at Al Gore as a hypocrite and see the blame-America-for-the-world’s-problems ploy for what it is, a political tactic?

Polls suggest people aren’t buying it. No, we don’t all fly around in private jets, have four homes and use even 1/20th of what Al Gore’s home electric bill is and until he cuts his carbon footprint to what the average American’s is average Americans won’t take him seriously; won’t rush to the polls in 2008 to save the world by raising our own taxes. Polling has shown that most Americans believe in the idea of Global Warming but it just doesn’t move ’em. It’s not inspiring.

If Al Gore wants to convince Americans he’s serious then he’ll make the sacrifices he asks us all to make. If Congress wants to convince Americans that raising taxes is the best way to fight global warming and save the planet from American capitalist and imperialist destruction by pollution then Congress should put a tax on limousines, private jets and make anyone who uses 20x the energy of the average American in their home pay a massive tax for such energy abuse. Until then, Americans will continue to see the problem, recognize it and recognize the hypocrisy of elitists playing off the people.

It gets worse. The days of opposition for opposition’s sake ended on November 6, 2006. Now, Democrats have a standard to meet. They are expected to solve the problems they present instead of just whine about them and make excuses. Failure to do so will fail to bring throngs of voters to the polls in 2008. The opposite would be true if they were to magically bring success to the war in Iraq and solve the world’s problem of Global Warming by taxing private jet use and home heating bills that are grossly inappropriate.

Global Warming is a nice way of taking the spotlight off Iraq and Democrats’ lack of accountability, but it isn’t going to work. The media at large can’t hide a war and Congress can’t hide from responsibility. Soldiers will continue to come home alive, dead or wounded. Soldiers will still be saying goodbye to their families well into 2009 even with President H. Clinton or President Obama and no Senate hearing on Global Warming with hypocrites demanding we pay for their extravagance will distract Americans. The anti-war (err, “situation”) movement is too strong to let it go and those who still support the war as well as those who fight it equally will not change the channel to see scientists debating the heating vs. cooling of the troposphere.