Republican's ongoing environmental crisis

Recently, National Review contributor Jim Geraghty questioned one of the pillars of Republican conservatism: the notion that anything that could in any way have a positive imnpact on the environment will by definition lead to catastrophic collapse of the economy, put in place a neo-fasci-communist dictatorship, and make the baby Jesus cry. This belief is so central to the conservative base of the Republican party that it may as well be a party platform, since everyone who suggests otherwise is subject to being voted out of the tribe.

Why are Republicans taking a more skeptical line on global warming than corporate America? And even if we don't like McCain's stands, can a straight up "it's not happening" stand be viable in the general election?

That opened the floodgates. Rush--who had already been actively correcting misguided conservatives--threw his weight behind the issue:

We are a growth people. We are a growth economy. The American people expect it, otherwise they wouldn't panic over recessions. They expect us to grow. They expect this economy to continue to provide higher wages, better products, and more opportunity. The world demands this. The world demands that we lead economically.

Look at the stock markets this week around the world. When we were closed, they tanked. It wasn't 'til our Federal Reserve got into gear with some fixes here on the interest rates and everything got stabilized. We are the economic stability of the entire world! We need more energy, not less -- and, sorry, folks: biofuels, windmills, hybrid cars, new lightbulbs, are a drop in the ocean. Those are all conservation oriented, and that's fine, but that doesn't create growth. What's happening here -- and this is why we cannot accept the premise of the left on this hoax. [...]

I don't search for the deeper meaning of reality. Reality is enough for me. You start searching for the deeper meaning of reality and you're going to end up such a head case that you're not going to be able to deal in reality at all because reality isn't reality, whatever it is, something underneath it that makes it real, all this is a bunch of poppycock.

Indeed. We need more energy, crave it. Like coming home and you don't know where you've been. Like black coffee, like nicotine. Like...well, I'll have respected climate scientist Roy Spencer tell us:

Are we “addicted to oil”? Sure, just like we are addicted to food. Try quitting.

Sounds worse than quitting oxycodone! It'll give you a feeling in the gut that just tells you something ain't right. And the gut is in some ways more important than reality:

But in the case of global warming, Rush Limbaugh has decided to go with his gut instinct. Scientists can be (and have been) spectacularly wrong when pontificating on natural systems as complex as the Earth’s climate — or the human body. This instinct has served Rush well over the years, and in the case of global warming, I agree with him.

I see Roy Spencer remembers the lessons he learned in graduate school very well....Science: forget the data, go with your gut!

Stay tuned for more absurdity, because it seems this controversy has reinvigorated the "fuck you Al Gore" wing of the party of ideas!