Democrats talk about climate, rake in billionaire bucks
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.:"Despite overwhelming scientific evidence and...
Democrats occupied the Senate floor all night Monday, talking about climate change. They didn't try to advance any legislation, and they didn't even try very hard to get media attention.
The members know that serious climate change legislation stands no chance of passage in this divided Congress, wrote the New York Times' climate-change reporter, Coral Davenport. Beyond that, Democrats know that action on climate legislation would help Republicans take the Senate in 2014.
So why occupy the Senate floor talking about the issue? In short: Faith, identity and cash.
The liberal climate cause is easier to understand if you think of it as a religion. Mondays talkathon sounded at times like a religious revival. Senators spoke about the faithful who believe in wind and believe in renewable energy. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said climate for him is a faith issue.
One doctrine in the Church of Climate is sola fide. In the words of Reformation theology: Justification comes through faith alone. Good works are irrelevant.
During the George W. Bush Era, for instance, liberal enviros compared the U.S. unfavorably to Europe on climate matters. The U.S. was curbing greenhouse gas emissions better than Europe, but Europe had made the profession of faith: signing on to the feckless Kyoto climate-change treaty.
Similarly, Democrats dont need to do anything about climate, as long as they profess their faith. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., uttered the creed on the Senate floor: We believe in science.
Identity politics also makes sense of empty phrases like we believe in science. The Left finds much of its self-worth in the notion that liberals believe in science more than conservative mouth-breathers do.
Democrats called Republicans deniers 28 times during the talkathon. Majority Leader Harry Reid framed his speech this way: Despite overwhelming scientific evidence and overwhelming public opinion, climate change deniers still exist.
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