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RiffRandell

(5,909 posts) Tue Jun 10, 2014, 12:06 PM Jun 2014

How the Citizens United Case Reshaped the Political Debate About Global Warming.

From The New Yorker by Jeffrey Toobin:

Remember when climate change could be a bipartisan issue? Newt Gingrich and Nancy Pelosi did an advertisement together, boasting of their partnership on the challenge it posed. John McCain also believed that man-made climate change was an urgent problem. Now it’s virtually impossible to find any leading Republicans, including potential Presidential candidates, who will agree, without equivocation, on all of these points: that temperatures are rising, that human beings caused it, and that the nation and the world must take action to address it.

Citizens United had the effect of taking money and power away from the political parties—which control only modest amounts of money, by contemporary standards—and handing that power to the people who write the checks. Certain of these people, the newly empowered rich, care a great deal about climate change—about denying its existence and fighting attempts to limit its impact.

The Kochs are so prominent that they have become, in effect, gatekeepers for Republican politics. Climate-change denial is now the price of admission to the charmed circle of Republican donors. Indeed, Americans for Prosperity, an organization heavily supported by the Kochs, has created a pledge for officeholders to sign, which promises that they will not support any legislation related to climate change that increases government net revenue. Dozens have signed on, including such likely Presidential candidates as the senators Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and Marco Rubio.

Link: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2014/06/republicans-united-on-climate-change.html?utm_source=tny&utm_campaign=generalsocial&utm_medium=twitter&mbid=social_twitter

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How the Citizens United Case Reshaped the Political Debate About Global Warming. (Original Post) RiffRandell Jun 2014 OP

The Kochs are so powerful, they even have the Republicans attacking the Pentagon over Uncle Joe Jun 2014 #1

You're welcome. RiffRandell Jun 2014 #2

I've said it before and I will say it again, Uncle Joe Jun 2014 #3

I completely agree. RiffRandell Jun 2014 #4

Uncle Joe

(58,300 posts)

1. The Kochs are so powerful, they even have the Republicans attacking the Pentagon over

Reply to RiffRandell (Original post)

Tue Jun 10, 2014, 12:18 PM

Jun 2014

the military's decision to calculate and plan for the very real national security threat of global warming climate change.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017196345

Ring of Fire: GOP Attacks Pentagon Climate Assessment

It's all about the money.

Thanks for the thread, RiffRandell.

RiffRandell

(5,909 posts)

2. You're welcome.

Reply to Uncle Joe (Reply #1)

Tue Jun 10, 2014, 12:35 PM

Jun 2014

That decision by the SC was a death knell for our country. I'm not optimistic in conquering global warming; it's not even discussed in my children's schools although I live in a pretty red state. My daughter, who was in second grade last year told her teacher "Happy Earth Day" on April 22...teacher had nothing planned for it.

We should have started tackling this issue decades ago, and now the Republicans will never cooperate with it (like they ever do).

We just do what we can at home.

Uncle Joe

(58,300 posts)

3. I've said it before and I will say it again,

Reply to RiffRandell (Reply #2)

Tue Jun 10, 2014, 12:50 PM

Jun 2014

it isn't "government" that the Republicans want to shrink down small enough to drown in a bathtub, that's just a code word, democracy is their target.

The Republicans in power would love nothing more than a large, invasive government controlled by the oligarchs and mega-corporations.

The Citizens United decision goes a long way toward those ends.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grover_Norquist

Norquist favors dramatically reducing the size of the government.[13] He has been noted for his widely quoted quip: "I'm not in favor of abolishing the government. I just want to shrink it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub."[55] Journalist William Greider quotes him saying his goal is to bring America back to what it was "up until Teddy Roosevelt, when the socialists took over. The income tax, the death tax, regulation, all that."[56] When asked by journalist Steven Kroft about the goal of chopping government "in half and then shrink it again to where we were at the turn of the [20th] century" before Social Security and Medicare, Norquist replied, "We functioned in this country with government at eight percent of GDP for a long time and quite well."[5]

RiffRandell

(5,909 posts)

4. I completely agree.

Reply to Uncle Joe (Reply #3)

Tue Jun 10, 2014, 01:05 PM

Jun 2014

Everything they stand for says so. I can't think of the name of it and have been searching to no avail, but I read a book written by a Republican about taxes and how disastrous the Bush tax cuts were...it was really informative....I think the author also wrote for The Washington Post.

This is going to drive me crazy; I know he went by 3 names.

Found it: http://www.amazon.com/Perfectly-Legal-Campaign-Rich---Everybody/dp/1591840694/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402420026&sr=1-1&keywords=johnston+taxes

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