Inhofe's "Truth Squad" Canceled [CORRECTION]
Inhofe's "Truth Squad" Canceled [CORRECTION]
UPDATE 12/17
Well it seems that 1Sky and Jim Inhofe were both wrong yesterday. Of course, our mistake was regarding whether the Oklahoma senator was going to Copenhagen and was not a misunderstanding of science that threatens millions of lives worldwide.
Senator Inohofe did end up going to the UN climate conference for just a few hours. It was long enough for him to hold a press conference where he told reporters that the Senate would not be able to pass climate legislation and that it was all a hoax perpetuated by "Hollywood elites," according to the Boston Globe.
He must mean "Hollywood elites" like the many Americans who have been put back to work, saved from lives of homelessness, and the small businesses that have been saved because of green stimulus – the same kind of job growth that would continue with strong federal legislation on climate change.
Or maybe it was "Hollywood elites" like the United States veterans and national security organizations of Operation Free who responded to Sen. Inhofe's statements:
The simple fact is that our dependence on a fossil fuels makes America more vulnerable, while climate disruptions make the world a more dangerous place for our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines. Veterans across America working with Operation Free understand the threat. American and international military leaders know that climate change and dependence on dirty energy is a threat and they are taking action. It's time for Jim Inhofe to put our security before partisanship and take his cue from the men and women who have dedicated their lives to securing their country.(Emphasis ours)
Inhofe could also mean "Hollywood elites" like the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), the group of island countries that are already feeling the effects of climate change in the form of water shortages, ocean acidification, and rising sea levels – island nations that are making their own impressive commitments to help. Or he might mean "Hollywood elites" like Chief Negotiator Di-Aping for developing countries who sees failure to make a strong, binding climate deal as "certain death for Africa" and "certain devastation for island states."
That's what he meant, right?
Two weeks ago we reported on Senator James Inhofe’s (R-OK) impending visit to Copenhagen to tell the delegates there that the United States is not going to pass a climate bill. At the time, Inhofe described himself as a “one-man truth squad” going to Europe to represent the "real" America. This sort of tomfoolery from one of Big Oil’s favorite senators is nothing new.
Like his British friend Lord Monckton, who shamefully referred to youth climate activists in Copenhagen as “Hitler youth,” Inhofe has been a long-time climate change denier, even going so far as to declare global warming "the biggest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people" as the former Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Now that he’s no longer in power, he is reduced to staging media stunts, proclaiming his intention to go to Copenhagen and actively work against the goals of the Obama Administration and Senate leadership.
Unfortunately, all the Danes and climate delegates who have been eagerly awaiting Inhofe’s arrival in Copenhagen will have to go without this time around. He has declined to attend the conference and bowed out of the hot-seat for now, but we’ll be looking forward to seeing his antics in full force as the Senate takes up the climate battle in 2010.
Bring. It. On.
