On Michael Steele's 'Cooling Process'

sheril — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:30:09 +0000

Several readers have emailed me to comment on Michael Steele's ummmm...imaginative explanations of both global 'cooling' and Greenland:

"We are cooling. We are not warming. The warming you see out there, the supposed warming, and I am using my finger quotation marks here, is part of the cooling process. Greenland, which is now covered in ice, it was once called Greenland for a reason, right? Iceland, which is now green. Oh I love this. Like we know what this planet is all about. How long have we been here? How long? No very long."

You want me to respond to that gibberish? Seriously? The man got the history of Greenland wrong... need I really wax poetic on the rest? It's not a question of 'what this planet is all about', but rather what planet is the RNC Chairman on?

My take is that I'm embarrassed for the Republicans. No, I may not always agree with their policies, but in terms of who is representing their image right now, surely they can do so much better...

sheril Fri, 03/20/2009 - 11:30

Tags

Conservatives and Science

Culture

global warming

Politics and Science

Greenland

Michael Steele

global warming

This reads more like SNL than news. Embarrassing and sad.

in terms of who is representing their image right now, surely they can do so much better.

Unfortunately, no. In fact, Mr. Steele is almost certainly too close to reality for the Party leadership. His remaining time as chairman is short.

How do these people walk around the halls of power and never run into anyone who's informed? Not all the GOP is completely clueless (climate change at least gets recognition as a problem on David Frum's blog). Don't any of these people with a clue talk to George Will? Or Mary Matlin?

Just when you thought the Republican War on Science was over....

Not all the GOP is completely clueless (climate change at least gets recognition as a problem on David Frum's blog).

That wasn't very wise. No telling how long he can get away with it.

Don't any of these people with a clue talk to George Will? Or Mary Matlin?

Besides the whole persona non grata thing, there's the simple matter of prudence: these people have power in the Party, and the less power the Party has the less outlet they have outside of it.

I am extremely heartened by this development because Chris now has every reason to write a sequel.

I don't think gibberish deserves the brain-power of a response.

Sadly, the reality is that the Republicans CANNOT do so much better.
They are in a total disarray, at a huge deficit, and this is it..

There's some consolation in this. With each passing year, the evidence in favor of AGW just keeps piling up higher and higher, and it's starting to show in ways that people can relate to. The recent fires in Australia cannot be definitively attributed to AGW, but as we get more and more stories of forest fires (and the process has already begin in the American West), and stories of problems with the Alaska pipeline because of thawing permafrost, and so forth, I think that more and more people will conclude that the AGW deniers are totally out of touch with reality.

Frum likes David Cameron, Rush Limbaugh not so much (he had a Newsweek cover story on the subject recently). Looks like he's trying to do some sort of insurrection. Chris, if you're looking for Republican allies, a number of his blog posters seem science friendly.

Sorry, a bit melodramatic, but yes, science friendly Republicans. They do exist.

What you're saying is that Michael Steele has been suckered by an 1100 year old real estate scam? If so, does the RNC have a real estate division -- I've got some land for sale. It's a new housing development in Florida called "Aqua Terra."

Sorry, a bit melodramatic, but yes, science friendly Republicans. They do exist.
Wow! That's fascinating! At what zoo can I go see them?

Sorry, cheap shot.

How to Make a Republican Firing Squad

gregladen — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:35:25 +0000

How to Make a Republican Firing Squad

First, draw a circle. Then, assemble your most incompetent boobs and make sure anyone who is competent you undermine. Such as the case of RNC Chairman Tom Steele ... keep him in power only long enough to demonstrate (because you've totally undermined him) that his sort should be avoided in the future, once and for all.

The most amazing bit of news we've heard since the Party of Racism cynically and quite temporarily appointed a black man to lead them, is that Minnesota's Norm Coleman could be appointed to replace Steele. The reaction of one Democratic Party official when asked what the Dems are going to do about this: "When the Republicans are forming a circular firing squad, the last thing we're going to do is step into the middle."

The rumor was first posted on Politico, and is discussed in more detail here.

What I think actually happened was this. Top Republican Party officials were talking about the future of the party while riding the subway into the city from their posh Virginia neighborhood. Nearby, a crafty reporter was listening in, trying to get some news to report on Politico.

One of the party officials said to the other: "Let's convince Norm Coleman to leave the Republican Party" but the reporter heard this as "Let's convene Norm Coleman to lead the Republican Party" because just then the subway, which is normally quite quite in DC (seriously ... those trains whisper compared to NY and Boston), went rattling over a bad piece of track.

That is the only possible explanation.

gregladen Wed, 03/18/2009 - 17:35