GOP Sen. Ron Johnson: Democrats Use ‘Bullsh*t’ Climate Change to Create ‘Fear’ and Gain ‘Control’

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 10: Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) arrives to a news conference with Republ
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Hannah Knudsen

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) believes Democrats use climate change, which he associated with the word “bullshit,” and the Chinese coronavirus to create a “state of fear” and gain “control,” reportedly making the remarks during a GOP luncheon over the summer.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I think climate change is — as Lord Monckton said — bullshit,” Johnson said, reportedly mouthing the word “bullshit” at the Republican Women of Greater Wisconsin Luncheon at Alioto’s in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, last month, according to CNN.

“By the way, it is,” the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee member said, adding there are “more and more scientists” writing books “just laying this to waste.”

“What are we doing here? Well, we’re killing ourselves,” he continued, describing it as a “self-inflicted wound.”

“It was all about creating the state of fear as they tried to do with global warming,” Johnson said of the corporate media’s reaction to the Chinese coronavirus.

“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s climate change now. Yeah. Whatever works,” he continued. “Whatever works that they can, you can set up a state of fear so they can step in and alleviate their fear.”

Johnson defended his past remarks in a statement to CNN.

“My statements are consistent. I am not a climate change denier, but I also am not a climate change alarmist. Climate is not static. It has always changed and always will change,” he maintained.

Last month, the Wisconsin lawmaker defended his stance again in response to questions from a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter after the outlet suggested he was “at odds with science,” releasing the entirety of the Q&As with additional explainers.

“Regarding climate change, I am not a climate change denier, but I also am not a climate change alarmist. Climate is not static. It has always changed and always will change,” he said, explaining that he does “not share Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s view that the ‘world is going to end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change.'”

That position, he continued, is “extreme.”

“At some point, all the Malthusian predictions that have not come true should begin reducing the credibility of the scaremongers. But that would take honest reporting by mainstream media, so I’m not holding my breath,” he added:

I have repeatedly referenced and agree with the view of Bjorn Lomborg (who fully believes in man-caused climate change) when he acknowledges that with limited resources, there are far more efficient and effective ways of alleviating human suffering than spending money trying to prevent temperature changes that we should be able to easily adapt to (as long as we don’t destroy our economies in a foolish quest to hold back the tides). By the way, in one of the attachments, notice how the sea level has risen about 390 feet over the last 20,000 years. Does anyone think we would have had the capability of preventing that? We will have to adapt to climate change.

The information on climate change I have provided are well documented facts that I have been assembling since 2010 and represent only a small fraction of what I have read on the subject. Far from what Al Franken falsely and ignorantly claims below, it shows I do extensive homework on subjects. Many in the press do not. Instead they display their bias by selecting a particular statement out of many that is not precisely correct and subject it to the highly partisan PolitiFact process to “prove” conservatives don’t know what they’re talking about. A perfect example of that biased technique is my quote from 2016 you provided to my staff: “The climate hasn’t warmed in quite a few years. That is proven scientifically.” Although the timing of my statement was slightly out of date, global warming either slowed down or paused, depending on which figures you look at, for approximately 16 years starting in the late 1990s (see, for example, the IPCC’s 2013 acknowledgement, a paper examining the pause, and an essay from a respected newspaper linking to other papers doing so). By the time I gave that 2016 interview, climate scientists still hadn’t agreed on an explanation. In hindsight, it is true that the climate had ended this pause and returned to its slow warming trend by 2016. Although I could have more precisely stated it, the larger point I was making regarding this 16 year flattening of the curve was basically correct. I wish I had a dollar for every time PolitiFact contacted my office with what they thought was a “gotcha” quote only to be disappointed that it was true, and then not follow up by actually publishing the fact that I was correct.

Earlier this year, the Global Warming Policy Foundation released a study by independent scientist Dr. Indur Goklany, suggesting there is no “climate emergency,” as detailed by Breitbart News’s James Delingpole:

At the end, Goklany provides a table, setting out all the scaremongering claims made by environmental groups — and then comparing them with observed reality. Only one of the claims stands up, according to the study — weather has been getting slightly warmer:

More hot days and fewer cold days — Yes

Cyclones/hurricanes more intense or frequent — No

Tornadoes increase and become more intense — No

Floods more frequent and more intense — No

Droughts more frequent and intense — No

Area burned by wildfire increasing — No (area peaked in mid-19th century)

Cereal yields decreasing — No (they have tripled since 1961)

Food supplies per capita decreasing — No (increased 31 per cent since 1961)

Land area and beaches shrinking, coral islands submerged — No. (Marginal expansion)

The White House, however, continues to push its climate change agenda as members of the radical left demand a Green New Deal. Last week, a group of activists associated with the Soros-funded Sunrise Movement protested at the White House, demanding the Biden administration to adopt an infrastructure plan that prioritizes a climate change agenda.

“What we are here to tell them is that you can’t break this promise to us anymore,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said, attending the protest. “They’re setting up a world that they won’t have to live in. Ok, that’s why this matters. That’s why we fight.”

“As a result of your hard work, we’ve got folks in the Senate, we’ve got folks in the House, not just me, not just like they like to say is a tiny group of the ‘Squad’ … we have a critical mass of people saying no climate, no deal,” she added:

Activists ultimately blocked entrances to the White House, resulting in “dozens” of arrests.

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