GOP Memo Reveals Electoral Strategy on Environment
GOP leaders in the House of Representatives, worried that Democrats are going to “hit us hard on the environment” in the coming election year, have issued a strategy memo on the subject. Its contents are … uh, what’s the charitable term here? … revealing. It recommends that Republicans stick with the following talking points: Global warming is not a fact. Links between air quality and asthma are “cloudy.” America’s rivers and lakes are healthier than the U.S. EPA says. And the environment as a whole is improving, despite statements to the contrary from “extremists.” Meanwhile, back on Earth, some GOP centrists worry that this head-in-the-sand approach could alienate swing voters, who will be central to the coming campaign. Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.), who leads a group of 69 moderate members of Congress and governors, said, “If I tried to follow these talking points at a town hall meeting with my constituents, I’d be booed.”
