Bush attacks environment 'scare stories'

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

George W. Bush's campaign workers have hit on an age-old political tactic to deal with the tricky subject of global warming - deny, and deny aggressively. The Observer has obtained a remarkable email sent to the press secretaries of all Republican congressmen advising them what to say when questioned on the environment in the run-up to November's election. The advice: tell them everything's rosy.

It tells them how global warming has not been proved, air quality is 'getting better', the world's forests are 'spreading, not deadening', oil reserves are 'increasing, not decreasing', and the 'world's water is cleaner and reaching more people'.

The email - sent on 4 February - warns that Democrats will 'hit us hard' on the environment. 'In an effort to help your members fight back, as well as be aggressive on the issue, we have prepared the following set of talking points on where the environment really stands today,' it states.

The memo - headed 'From medi-scare to air-scare' - goes on: 'From the heated debate on global warming to the hot air on forests; from the muddled talk on our nation's waters to the convolution on air pollution, we are fighting a battle of fact against fiction on the environment - Republicans can't stress enough that extremists are screaming "Doomsday!" when the environment is actually seeing a new and better day.'

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1185292,00.html

[MaineDem]

1. I love the foreign press!

Thanks for posting this.

[jpak]

2. The e-mail forgot to mention that...

the Earth is flat

the Moon is made of green cheese

and babies come from the Cabbage Patch.

What fucking morans!!!!!

[madaboutharry]

8. Wait a minute,

I thought the Moon was made of Swiss cheese.

[pinniped]

14. Havarti Dill.

n/t

[meow2u3]

19. The Moon IS made of swiss cheese

but the cheese is molded--and the color happens to be green! :silly:

[Kool Kitty]

25. Yeah, and I thought

that storks brought babies.

[Joanne98]

9. The Flat Earth Society. These people HATE science

They HATE math too. They just can't figure out how to make math and science fit into their lies. Old Europe needs to put it's foot down about global warming. The melting of the North Pole is putting fresh water into the gulf stream which keeps them warm. The Green parties of the EU need to threaten economic sanctions against the US if we don't come back to the Kyoto Treaty table. This is REAL serious. Europe could turn into an ice cube before " The fundie flat Earth Society" admits anything.

[rumguy]

3. These are the folks who don't even believe in science!

Basically, they are telling them to lie!

Bring it on! Kerry eats liers for breakfast.

[SpiralHawk]

4. " a new and better day." WTF

Kiss my ass.

I think the BS is getting to be just too thick for most US citizens at this stage. Are we going to believe our eyes, or Trust in Big Brother.

By the way, where are the WMD?

[rumguy]

5. This is my favorite part

It proves how black their hearts really are. It proves their utter and complete evil:

"In a leaked 2002 memo, Luntz said: 'The scientific debate is closing but not yet closed. There is still a window of opportunity to challenge the science.' "

[Joanne98]

12. Faith-based-science, faith-based-jobs report, faith-based Intel

Faith-based-(add any word here) This is a great talking point. It needs to be hammered into the American consciousness. It portrays them as old-fashioned, uninformed, unable to deal with 21st century problems. "Frozen in Amber", "A blind man in a room full of deaf people", Out of touch, back wards, Hatred of modernity, they have the same problem they accuse the Muslim extremists of having. RELIGIOUS FUNDIES ARE INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE MODERN ERA. All fundies are a threat to mankind. Global warming, over-population, women's rights, broken economic policies. You name it. Their ideas don't work in a modern world.

[yardwork]

17. Thank you for saying this so well.

Another point about fundies is that they all believe that they have their god's given right to exploit the earth for personal gain.

[hatrack]

6. Pretty much what I would have expected

Step One - deny that there's a problem, and state that laws & regulations have made our environment much cleaner than it was 30 years ago (which is true).

Step Two - Smear any and all who bring the many and varied unpleasant facts of current environmental problems as Chicken Little, doomsayers and hysterical apocalyptics.

Step Three - Stubbornly maintain that the laws & regulations which have made our environment much cleaner than it was 30 years ago must be repealed for the sake of "competetiveness", "economic growth", "our childrens' futures'", "(insert your cliche here)".

Every year Chimpy's late-April tree porn becomes funnier and more hypocritical - I just can't wait for Earth Day this year!

[burythehatchet]

7. all the F*****g talking points and coordinated messages are going

to fail. They will backfire because you're lying. You can lie as long as people are not tuned in to your lies.

Too many people are tuned in. It seems that these folks think that an opposition will never materialize. They are wrong. We coalesce around cogent arguments of well discussed issues. Is there any chance that 50 % of the public will but into their environmental talking points? Hell no!

AND it will backfire when we remind the world of their PATTERN OF LYING ABOUT EVERYTHING

[Triple H]

10. So...the world's leading scientists are wrong...

college professors, college students, environmental organizations, and many many other sources that say global warming is going on are all wrong too, eh? I mean, hell, the facts say that global warming is going on, destruction of our forests, unclean water, and everything else is all wrong?

These people are the stupidest fucking people in the world. I hope they are all voted out come November. :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr:

[Joanne98]

13. Good talking point

The Bush Administration believes the "rapture" is coming so global warming doesn't matter because we're all going to see baby Jesus pretty soon. Stopping abortion, birth control, gay marriage, women's rights, estate taxes, punishing sinners and evil doer's and converting them to Christianity is all that matters now. Jesus is coming, Jesus is coming, go see "the Passion" and confess. Then it's off to Jerusalem to tear down that mosque so "The Temple can be rebuilt according to prophecy. Why don't they just announce this to the world. It's the "good news". Why are they hiding it? It's they're VALUES after all. Aren't they proud of they're values?

[DieboldMustDie]

11. What do they have to say about the recent report from the Pentagon...

re. our impending environmental catastrophe?   Must be just some more "environmentalist wackos."

http://www.fortune.com/fortune/technology/articles/0,15114,582584,00.html

[DeepModem Mom]

15. I've posted about making environment an issue this election ---

These talking points indicate that the Bush campaign agrees that the issue would resonate with voters. (I don't know why Al Gore didn't make the centerpiece of his political career an issue in 2000.)

[DemoTex]

16. Bu$h IS the environment 'scare story'

The world agrees!

[shanti]

18. lie and deny

it's their MO.

[Nashyra]

20. As for global warming

has anyone seen the trailer for the movie coming out on Memorial
Day about global warming? It is by the director of indepence day and I don't remeber the name.

[Fovea]

22. The day after tomorrow.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/dayaftertomorrow/

[Manix]

21. ....a despicable administration!

[Lorien]

23. "Scare stories"?

Isn't that all * has to run on? "Terra! terra!Terra"! 24/7, all because he allowed it to happen!

What are they going to scream when the air can't be breathed, plants won't grow, and the oil runs out?

[shockingelk]

24. oil reserves are increasing? WFT?

Heck, it's increasing so fast that we have to drill it out or the Earth will fall into the sun because of the additional mass of the increasing oil.

[Kinkistyle]

26. Wow! From the sound of it, in a few years it'll be heaven on earth!

Forests are spreading, water getting cleaner, air getting sweeter, oil is literally seeping out of our backyards! By golly, it sounds like it'll be Eden all over again in another 20 years!!