Republican strategist Karl Rove, who helped organize the outside groups that spent millions to install Republicans in the midterm elections, spent election day celebrating with Pennsylvania’s growing drilling industry. Like other corporate sectors, the fossil industry is hoping that Republicans will be able to roll back regulations that limit their profit-seeking at the expense of people’s health and safety. Rove told the attendees of a shale-gas conference in Philadelphia that the incoming Republican House of Representatives “sure as heck” won’t pass legislation to limit greenhouse pollution from fossil fuels:
“Climate is gone,” said Rove, the keynote speaker on the opening day of a two-day shale-gas conference sponsored by Hart Energy Publishing L.L.P. And Rove told the trade show, “I don’t think you need to worry” the new Congress will consider proposed legislation to put the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing under federal rather than state regulation. The procedure, known as “fracking,” is responsible for the dramatic growth of shale-gas drilling in formations such as Pennsylvania’s vast Marcellus Shale.Rove’s pronouncement that the “climate is gone” may be more accurate than he realizes. The Geological Society of London is warning that the planet will take 100,000 years to recover from man’s global warming pollution, the permanently warmer Arctic is altering weather patterns across the Northern Hemisphere, and scientists continue to warn that global policy ambitions — if the United States even acted — are likely too weak to avoid catastrophe.
Here are the links:
It’s a little hard to imagine the fun of such an announcement. Kind of like the WMD’s that they were sure were in Iraq. It feels as if they have an immunity from being called on not telling the truth. Not that Rove bothered to even debunk Global Warming in this instance. I expect he doesn’t care about that one way or another. His job is to bring in the votes, and he does it well – better than anyone else that ever was.
One particular tactic of his is to admit, after the fact, all the tricks. It’s surprisingly effective. He avoids being exposed by exposing his own shenanigans – eg the New York Times article this morning about their campaign to unseat Pelosi and the use of “guerilla tactics.” And I wonder what communication system they use to coordinate everything. Whatever it is, it works seamlessly. The same Talking Points emerge simultaneously from multiple foci with great regularity.
It’s all so seedy, but you have to admire his persistence and his effectiveness. Thus far, he’s been unstoppable – a near perfect track record. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t believe in an afterlife…
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