COULD $82 MILLION HELP EXPLAIN WHY THE US CONGRESS IS FULL OF CLIMATE-CHANGE DENIERS?

American author Upton Sinclair once quipped, "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it."

Pump "salary" up to $82 million in contributions from the fossil fuel industry to climate-change deniers in the US Senate and House of Representatives, and you can start to understand why so many of the people we've elected to represent us spout so much nonsense about climate change.

$ 1 Million on display in Las Vegas

(multiply this by 82 and give to your favorite politicians)

Credit: mmarchin/CreativeCommons

According to Ryan Koronowsky at ThinkProgress, there are 180 climate deniers in the US Congress, not to mention the one in the oval office. Of those, 142 are in the House and 38 in the Senate. That represents a hefty 59 percent of the Republicans in the House, and a truly impressive 73 percent of the Republicans in the Senate. Remarkable figures given that the American public overwhelmingly recognizes that human-caused climate change is real and supports government action to mitigate it.

It appears that something is causing our senators and representatives to oppose not just the scientific consensus on climate change but the desires of their own constituents. It could be superior intelligence, greater knowledge or perhaps a more highly developed sense of responsibility and stewardship.

Or it could be money. Money that pays for the market research and ads that keep getting them elected.

What do you think?

Me, I'm betting on the money.

-----

Here's a list of who and how much.

You can read Koronowsky's detailed article, with maps and charts, here.

You can read an interesting piece about parallels between the Soviet embrace of Lysenkoism under Stalin and the Republican embrace of climate change denial here.

Note: To be fair, Democrats are probably just as likely to be "influenced" by contributions. This essay by Lauren McCauley at Common Dreams presents data showing that for a mere $100,000, the odds of a Democrat representative flipping on a key financial regulation issue rose by 14 percent. With millions or billions of dollars of profits at stake, political contributions are clearly a terrific investment.

If you enjoyed this post, please sign up for email alerts and let friends know about zerospinzone.blogspot.com.

NATE SILVER'S 538 REPORTS THAT DEMOCRATS WHO DIDN'T VOTE COST CLINTON THE ELECTION

WHEN INDIFFERENCE MAKES A DIFFERENCE

On September 16 of last year I posted about pre-election polling research that showed that potential Trump voters were far more enthusiastic than potential Clinton voters. The pollsters warned that this enthusiasm gap could make the difference in a close race.

Unfortunately, that prediction turned out to be right on target. Today, Nate Silver's 538 published an analysis showing that Democrats and independents who stayed home rather than voting did make the difference. Thanks to them, as much as those who were enthusiastic enough to actually vote for Trump, we'll be inaugurating President Trump in a few days, with all that implies.

". . . Donald Trump probably would have lost to Hillary Clinton had Republican- and Democratic-leaning registered voters cast ballots at equal rates," concludes the author of the 538 analysis, Harry Enten.

Once again we're reminded that evil doesn't just happen because of the actions of bad people but, as Martin Luther King said, because of " . . . the appalling silence and indifference of the good people . . ."

Not voting counts too--this time a lot/Credit: nshepard

The Lysenko Affair

Truthout has just published an op-ed by us, entitled The Lysenko Affair. 

Here's the summary:

The Republican Party's embrace of climate-change denial is reminiscent of the Soviet Union's three-decade-long endorsement of Lysenkoism, which likewise was based on denial of basic science. Both represent politically convenient untruths with dangerous real-world consequences.

You can read the piece at: http://www.truth-out.org/speakout/item/25078-the-lysenko-affair

Kimberley Strassel of the Wall Street Journal reveals GOP game plan for next two years

Kim,

Your piece, "The GOP's 2012 Game Plan" in the WSJ on Mitch McConnell lifted my spirits.

It's always comforting to know we have you and a resident realist in Washington who put the Republican Party above the unnecessary liberal "needs" of the country. Without Mitch we would never have taken back so many seats in Congress. The Republican strategy of the past two years has been the best I've seen in my lifetime as a Republican--take a President who offers hope and bipartisanship and just say no to everything. Limit his accomplishments and register our opposition. The 'green behind the ears' Obama was caught completely off guard--he came into office thinking he could do something for the country! We showed him otherwise. Now, with good game-planning we'll keep him hopping another two years and then we'll put Sarah in office and be able to get those tax cuts back for us rich people. I don't know about you, but I HATE to give money to the government. How else could I have become the multi-millionaire I am?

I can't tell you how excited I am--and that goes for my family too. We flew to France yesterday to look at a new villa (it's 15th century, but new to us). I know we will be able to afford it now. And we stopped by the Caymans on the way home (I'm glad airport security checks for liquids but not for greenbacks--if you get me drift). Boy are we going to have fun, and we can count on Maria and Jose to take care of the place "on the Sound" while we're away.

I don't know what America would do without true Republicans like you to protect the interests of us on Wall Street. Two years ago we thought it was over. And thanks to you and leader Mitch, we're raking it in once more.

I am so sincerely indebted to you and Mitch, I am at a loss for words. Still, you can be sure that I'm not at a loss for other ways to show my appreciation. Now that the Supremes have granted my corporation its free speech rights, I'll be able to help the cause in hundreds of thousands of ways.

Yours truly,

P.S. Did you hear that rumor that Obama is going to be spending $200,000,000 of your money and my money on a junket to India. Hey, me and my buds went there just last year and it didn't cost half that much. We have to put some breaks on that bozo in the WH before he gets out of control--so good luck to you and our Resident Realist.

Lou Miller
for the institute

avandia