Team Obama Wants Public To Think Calls Republicans are 'Crazy' on Climate

Jim Messina, head of Barack Obama’s Organizing For Action (OFA) grass-roots campaign operation, wrote a fundraising memo in which he revealed OFA’s plans to vilify global-warming doubters as crazy. The memo read like this:

Friend ?–

Notice the question mark. You have to prove you’re a friend to the Obama machine.

Take a look at these statements on climate change — give ’em a good read through and see what you think:

“Global warming has become a religion for many back here in Washington. To this crowd, there are no greater or more urgent problems anywhere. They worship at the alter [sic] of carbon generation and reduction.”

“Nobody really knows the cause … the earth cools, the earth warms … It could be caused by carbon dioxide or methane. Maybe we should kill the cows to stop the methane, or stop breathing to stop the CO2 … Thousands of people die every year of cold, so if we had global warming it would save lives … We ought to look out for people. The earth can take care of itself.”

“I’m also old enough to remember when the same left-wing part of our society was creating a global cooling scare in order to generate funds for their pet projects. So 30-some years ago the big scare was global cooling, and once they drained that [topic], they shifted to global warming.”

“[Scientists] are making up their facts to fit their conclusions. They’ve already caught them doing this.”

Sounds like things your crazy uncle would say at Thanksgiving dinner, right?

Nahh. If I had a crazy uncle he’d probably say something like “Y’all gonna be put in chains,” or something really crazy.

You’d be wrong. These are all statements made by current elected officials in Congress, folks whose votes have the power to make an actual difference on this issue. These climate deniers need to be called out — and you’re the only ones who can do it.

Add your name to join the team that’s going to hold these deniers accountable.

OFA will be out there making sure that the people saying these things are called out — and the people who sidestep the facts are forced to step up and say what they actually believe is going on with our climate.

Speaking of sidestepping facts, how about these:

A 1996 IPCC report summary written by B.D. Santer, T.M.L Wigley, T.P. Barnett, and E. Anyamba stated there was man-made global warming, but in the same year Barnett and Santer wrote, “it will be hard to say, with confidence, that an anthropogenic climate signal has or has not been detected.” That’s one hell of a contradiction.

Stephen Schneider, the author of The Genesis Strategy, which warned that global cooling risks were a threat, later wrote in Discover:

On the one hand, as scientists we are ethically bound to the scientific method, on the other hand, we are not just scientists, but human beings as well. And like most people, we’d like to see the world a better place, which in this context translates into our working to reduce the risk of potentially disastrous climatic change. To do that, we need to get some broad-based support, to capture the public’s imagination. That, of course, entails getting loads of media coverage. So we have to offer up scary scenarios, make simplified, dramatic statements, and make little mention of the doubts we might have.

Okay, back to the memo:

Look, our crazy uncles aren’t the problem. But these members of Congress are using these far-fetched conspiracy theories as an excuse for not taking action on an issue that affects our environment, our economy, and yes, the planet our children and grandchildren inherit.

Climate change is real, and we’re not going to get anywhere on the issue until these guys admit that.

If you and I don’t say anything, nothing will change in Washington.

Help climate deniers in Congress see the light and take a step toward progress.

See the light? Hey, you just called us crazy. Are we supposed to be speaking to you?