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Jim DiPeso, the policy director for Republicans for Environmental Protection (and one of our guests for the hour on Thursday), likes to point out that his group often prompts double-takes. As he joked in a speech a few years ago, it sounds "like the world's funniest oxymoron."
But he's serious: "Our mission is to restore the Republican Party's conservation tradition, to encourage and cajole the Republican Party into taking more responsible positions on environmental issues." Conservation, he argues, is conservative.
And he's pretty fired up. We called Jim after John McCain's convincing wins on Super Tuesday because we were wondering if some kind of political shift is afoot. McCain, after all, is perhaps the most outspoken Republican on climate change. He's led congressional trips to Antarctica, Greenland, and Alaska -- the last one with Hillary Clinton as a traveling companion -- and he hasn't been afraid to bring up the unpopular topic even in states like Michigan where it may have lost him a primary. But the real question is whether we're watching simply the striking but limited transition from George W. Bush to John McCain as titular head of the Republican party or evidence of a broader seismic shift within the party itself.
Jim DiPeso seems to think it's the latter... or at least the beginning of that seismic shift. And so does State Senator Jason Atkinson (R-Central Point), another guest for the hour. You may remember Atkinson from his gubernatorial run. But perhaps you also remember him as a co-sponsor of the Oregon Renewable Energy Act, which mandated that 25% of all energy sold in Oregon be from renewable sources by 2025.
What about you? Do you see a shift? Do you welcome it? Are you a part of it? Or do you see this as mere green-washing?
GUESTS:
- Jim DiPeso: Policy Director of Republicans for Environmental Protection
- Jason Atkinson: State Senator in the 2nd District
- Ivan Maluski: Organizer of Sierra Club of Oregon
Tagged as: climate change · mccain · politics · republicans
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This strikes me as a great development within the Republican party. Global Warming is THE challenge of our generation and Republicans should be able to lead on the issue, and lead in their own style.
If we have any local environmentally minded Republican leaders they will be supporting a modest global warming proposal in Oregon's 2008 Special Legislative Session. House Bill 3610 would provide a clear and accurate measurement of Oregon?s carbon footprint. It requires C02 reporting from large emitters of greenhouse gases and it requires state officials to report to the Legislature on the measures necessary to meet our greenhouse gas emission reduction goals.
If this is a trend among Republicans that is playing out locally, I imagine we will see broad Republican support for House Bill 3610 as a modest first step towards Global Warming solutions here in Oregon. -
[b]"Stewardship as a biblical obligation?"[/b]
This is a perfect example of the flip-flop of conservative positions. Conservative Christians used to hide behind the Bible's promise of rapture and the destruction of the earth to [ignore] environmental issues. Their philosophy was basically "God gave us the earth to use as we see fit. So let's use it up. God put the oil in the ground for us to use, so let's burn it."
Their hypocrisy is difficult to swallow. [i]Please[/i] don't credit them with being the Green Old Party. -
As a follow up notation regarding HB 3610: http://www.leg.state.or.us/08ss1/agenda/webagendas.htm
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As a principled Democrat my issues rank as follows:
Economy
Enviroment
Woman's Right to Choose
Since these are my priorities I have no choice but to vote a Democrat though I identify with most Republican fiscal issues. The Republicans were genius to court the religious conservatives which they did fiercely in the 90's. It worked and they took back the Government on that wave and I thought they would never relinquish that grip especially if they could turn every American into a player of the market by privatizing Social Security. They have since squandered that lead with horrible decisions in Iraq and especially with the enviroment. As much as I hate over regulation, I certainly don't want my grandchildren to breathe filthy air and drink dirty water. If the republican party actually takes on this cause and FOLLOWS through, the pull would be strong for moderate democrats such as myself and this could be their ticket to gaining back the power and voter base they have lost in the last 8 years.
I firmly this is a political decision for political gain but if it works and the future benefits they could very well gain my vote very soon. That's how it's done, one voter at a time. -
I am a republican and an evangelical Christian. I am also a believer in global warning. I began to care about climate change after watching An Inconvenient Truth. I think Christians will agree that we need to be good stewards of our planet, but they don't care! It's about getting people to care. The convincing data is what did it for me. Unfortunately, a lot of Christians have not seen An Inconvenient Truth because they do not trust and do not like Al Gore. They cannot get past the man and look at the issue. This has been my experience.
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But eventually, when the tide of public opinion moves them, they change their position. They fight tooth-and-nail against change, then dramatically adopt the new position, stake a claim of ownership to the idea, and climb to moral high ground. Meanwhile, Democrats, or liberals, have been shouting the benefits or dangers for years, only to be ignored and upstaged.
It's tragic.