Climate Politics

Where energy/environment issues stand in the Republican Party

Now that the Republican convention is over (I hope you all followed Kate’s stellar coverage), it’s worth stepping back and assessing the big picture: Where do energy issues stand in the GOP? (As far as I can tell, environmental issues, including climate change, stand nowhere — the only person I heard mention McCain’s cap-and-trade program […]

Charlie Rose chats with pre-VP-candidate Sarah Palin

Since everyone seems obsessively interested in Sarah Palin these days, here she is in Charlie Rose’s “Green Room,” saying, among other things, that Alaska’s oil can revitalize our economy and give us energy independence, which is of course, um, false: And here’s a full hour of Charlie Rose with Ariz. governor Janet Nepolitano and Palin: […]

Grist talks to Republican convention-goers about McCain’s climate and energy plans

While at the Republican National Convention, I caught up with some of the delegates and others milling around downtown St. Paul to talk about John McCain’s climate and energy policies. Most supporters were enthusiastic about his support for expanded oil drilling (especially the Texas oilmen I ran into), but they think he’s been deluded by […]

Grist talks to Jim DiPeso of Republicans for Environmental Protection

David and I talked to Jim DiPeso, policy director of Republicans for Environmental Protection, while we were covering the Republican National Convention this week. The group endorsed John McCain way back in October, and despite the addition of the less-than-green Sarah Palin to the GOP ticket, DiPeso said his group stands by McCain. We caught […]

McCain’s 10 energy lies top Palin’s four

From McCain’s prepared text we see the Arizona senator easily tops Palin’s lies: My fellow Americans, when I’m president, we’re going to embark on the most ambitious national project in decades. We are going to stop sending $700 billion a year to countries that don’t like us very much. Lie No. 1: McCain has no […]

‘Drill now’ Newt on The Daily Show

Palin’s ‘energy expertise’

Alaska is basically a petrostate — to the extent oil prices rise, it benefits. Thus politicians in Alaska develop a very sophisticated ability to encourage Alaskan energy exploration and to use the resulting revenue to garner support among their constituents. It’s difficult to see how that sort of “expertise” is going to translate to the […]

The dynamic behind the GOP’s mockery of community organizing

Lots of folks have been talking (angrily) about Wednesday night’s GOP effort to make “community organizer” an object of mockery — see, for instance, Joe Klein, Chris Hayes, Sally Kohn, and the excellent Jay Smooth: This is all right on, but I think one aspect is being overlooked, one contrast between community organizers and mayors […]

McCain talks energy in his big acceptance speech, but eschews talk of environmental concern

John McCain. Photo: johnmccain.com Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s acceptance speech in St. Paul this evening had plenty of references to the nation’s energy concerns, calling for drilling here and now, as well as nuclear, “clean coal,” and renewables. There was not, however, a single mention of climate change, an issue he has in the […]

Energy and moose are hot topics on the last night of the RNC

OK, Joe Lieberman is still the only person to mention either “global warming” or “climate change” in an official speech. But the energy issue is hot tonight, as is bashing Barack Obama and other Democrats for opposing expanded domestic drilling. The key excerpts: Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.): “The choice in this election is clear … […]