Following the blowback from their treasonous letter to the mullahs in Iran attempting to sabotage any nuclear nonproliferation deal, you'd think Republicans wouldn't go down that path another time. You would be wrong:
The Obama administration officially committed the United States Thursday to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent to 28 percent within 10 years. This is the sort of U.S. leadership necessary to keep major emitting nations moving toward significant curbs on the gases that cause global warming, a world effort that negotiators hope to formalize at a major conference in Paris this year.
As you might expect, much of the Republican reaction was irresponsible and counterproductive. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), for one, tried to sabotage the incipient global carbon effort: “Considering that two-thirds of the U.S. federal government hasn’t even signed off on the Clean Power Plan and 13 states have already pledged to fight it, our international partners should proceed with caution before entering into a binding, unattainable deal,” he said. In other words, McConnell counseled other countries that the United States wasn’t likely to keep its promises . . . because of opposition from McConnell and his party. (our emphasis)The article goes on to credit Tennessee Republican Sen. Lamar "Lamar!" Alexander for not being a party to "Missy" McConnell's overt attempt at sabotage, rather offering other options (go nuclear!) to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. OK, credit due.
But the larger issue is most House and Senate Republicans' willingness to publicly undermine American leadership abroad on critical issues, like a nuclear Iran and global climate change. McConnell, who is so far in the pocket of the fossil fuel extraction industry that it would be considered carnal knowledge in some states, can reliably be counted on to be on the wrong side of history/ science/ whatever. But someone should remind him (with a lump of coal to the forehead?) that the current occupant of the White House was elected twice and is still our only Chief Executive.
(Image: Sen. Mitch "Missy" McConnell, busy signing letters to foreign governments?)
