Palin Changes Position on Global Warming - Then Denies It
Now says she believes human actions are partly to blame - and that she never changed her position
Alaska Governor and Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin performed what some might call a ‘flip-flop,’ in regards to her position on the causes of global warming. Miraculously, Palin is claiming that this has been part of her position all along.
In an interview with ABC News’ Charlie Gibson that aired last Thursday and Friday, Palin said that she believes “man’s activities certainly can be contributing to the issue of global warming/climate change….” When Gibson challenged Palin on what is clearly a sharp change in her position, Palin recoiled and said, “…show me where I have ever said that there’s absolute proof that nothing that man has ever conducted or engaged in has had any affect, or no affect, on climate change.”But in her most definitive recent statement about the causes of global warming, Palin said, “I’m not one though who would attribute it to being man-made.”
This is not a nuanced-shift in the technical specifics of some obscure policy. This is a drastic change in a major policy question that is apparent to even the most casual political observer. And while I applaud Gov. Palin for apparently coming around viz. climate change (even if it is purely pandering), it is politically dangerous for her to be denying that she ever changed her position. I can’t imagine Palin’s switch will be something the opposition and the media will accept without further inquiry and investigation.
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“man’s activities certainly can be contributing to the issue of global warming/climate change…”
The key word here, is “Can” as she goes on to say what she feels on the topic:
“I’m not one though who would attribute it to being man-made.”
Much like I would say “Man may have something to do with it, but I don’t think that is accurate” or:
“Socialism may fix global warming, however I’m not one who would attribute Global Warming to being a man-made problem.”
This is old news, dude; the interview was last week.
I agree with the comment above - she did not “change position”. She had earlier said that she didn’t believe that global warming is man-made. Then last week she said that it was possible. She did not say that she now believes it is man-made, just that the possibility is there. Guess what - even the IPCC never said that it IS man-made, just that it is “very likely”.
Didn’t they teach the definition of words in journalism class?
Rick, she went from saying she wouldn’t attribute it to man-made to saying it is possible. And she is hiding her obvious shift by saying that she never said with 100 percent certainty that man had nothing to do with it to saying that it could. If I may, Palin said:
“I’m not one though who would attribute it to being man-made.”
That quote is not and cannot be considered synonymous with:
“man’s activities certainly can be contributing to the issue of global warming/climate change….”
Father is right! A small percentage of global warming comes from human beings. If it does, reprimand and stop the CHINESE & India. They are the biggest contributors to the man made Global Warming. After alot of research, many theories,etc. We have concluded, we are in a CYCLE, no different than the earth has experienced in recorded history. Volcanoes, Earthquakes, etc. are all to be considered. What caused the Volcano in the Indian Ocean to blow 4 times in 1890? Global Warming? Read about Krakow, which is said to be building up for another explosion. Global warming was invented by the Democratic, socialistic, elitist, left wingers, hoping to Blame G.Bush again. haha. Bush will go down in history as one of the greatest Presidents in History. He has nothing to do with Freddie Mae, Freddie Mac, they are controlled by the democratic majority Congress and the DNC to provide a home ownership to Everyone? Another elitist propagandist foolery!!
Still, I think it is a stretch to say that she reversed her opinion or flip-flopped. The comments are not synonymous, but they are not antonymous either.
“I’m not one though who would attribute it to being man-made.” - She doesn’t personally believe that man caused global warming.
“man’s activities certainly can be contributing to the issue of global warming/climate change” - She admits that there is a possibility that we contribute.
As for myself, I believe that it is possible that mankind affects the climate, but I personally have not been convinced that we are the significant cause of “global warming” - there are MANY factors, of which we may be a very small part.
“It depends on what the meaning of the words ‘is’ is.” –Bill Clinton, during his 1998 grand jury testimony on the Monica Lewinsky affair.
Sooo…the right sees it as clarifying her position while the left sees it as a flip-flop, and the issue of fixing the problem is still mute. But at least the right has finally acknowledged global warming/climate change.
@Rick: Fair enough. You are correct in your assertion that the comments are neither synonyms nor antonyms; much like the causes of global warming are neither entirely because of human action nor entirely cyclical. I would argue that the “truth” lies somewhere in between, and I do not claim to know where exactly that is.
As an aside, you will notice I didn’t write that she “flip-flopped,” but rather, that some might say she has done so. Personally I can’t stand the “flip-flop” language, and I see it as problematic that somehow our society now values strength in conviction, over contingency, pragmatism and the ability to learn new things and adapt. I was going to explore that idea further in the post, but wanted to keep it short and focused.
Palin is a radical neocon. She wants more weapons, more political power, more war, more death penalty, more oil. She is also a fanatical religious - against abortion, against gays, against the theory of evolution and she is unilateralist, convinced that America, with the blessing of God, may rule the world. She ignores the crisis, unemployment, the astronomical deficit, and as foreign policy, zero. I mean, if elected, America would have 4 more years of it … or worse. A nightmare and a disaster for the West and the World.
Palin is just another puppet for the rich. Big oil controls her. She wants to privatize social security, put creationism in clasroons and McCain plans to tax your employer’s contribution to your health insurance. Bottom line: your pay goes down or you lose health insurance altogether.
Global warming is part of a natural cycle. But the speed of the change is not. In the past it took hundreds of thousands of years for earth’s sesmic activity (volcanos) to produce enough CO2 to trigger warming effects. What man has done is accelerate the process. It’s science. It is proven. What took 10 millenia to occur is taking place within 2 centuries. Forgot the language or terms used…to suggest that the use of fossil fuel is not a major contributing factor to global warming is equilivant to saying we are only in a mental recession. With the transfer of wealth from the US to contries like India and China have become more industrialized and cars have become affordable so now they are contributing more than ever but that’s so new it’s a vacuous argument. And Bush the greatest president??? He said the economic fundamentals were sound a year ago when things were turning really bad. It’s correct he had nothing to do with Freddie Mac…he didn’t want to regulate anything. And his claim that Iraq’s oil revenues would pay for the war worked just like he said it would didn’t it? He will be the best US president in history for Iran’s interests. They are making out like bandits by our wiping out the one thing that kept them in check and kept Al Qaeda out of Iraq. We did in a few weeks what Iran couldn’t do in 10 years. And calling someone who actually knows enough to tell it like it an elitist is morbidly humorous. Can’t win on issues? Start name calling. Oh brother…..We have the leaders we deserve. I’ll bet many will think I am for Obama. If you did then you are part of the problem in that you make conclusions with only some of the facts. To me the two parties are flip sides of the same coin.