Schwarzenegger Aide: McCain’s Climate Plan Gets An ‘F’
Schwarzenegger Aide: McCain’s Climate Plan Gets An ‘F’
Last week, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) bragged about his environmental record while campaigning in California. He insisted that reigning in greenhouse gas emissions “should be a big issue for all of us,” and insinuated that he was stronger on the environment than his Democratic opponents:
“I don’t know what their position is because I haven’t seen them show any particular commitment in the U.S. Senate or elsewhere” on climate change, he told reporters. “I have proposed legislation and fought for amendments.”
Yet just today, McClatchy reports that the climate aide to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) — who endorsed McCain to much fanfare in Feburary — gave McCain a flunking grade on his environmental plans:
Terry Tamminen, an adviser on energy and environmental policy to California Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, looked at what the presidential candidates have said they’d do and graded them: He gave Clinton and Obama B’s, but McCain got an F because he hasn’t put out a specific plan.
As the Washington Post’s Juliet Eilperin noted, McCain’s statement bashing the lack of “commitment” by Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Barack Obama (D-IL) is disingenuous. He sidesteps the fact that the two Democratic senators “back climate legislation, up for a Senate vote in June, that he has yet to endorse.”
Both Clinton and Obama advocate 80 percent cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 — a standard scientists have said is necessary to “if the world is to avoid potentially dangerous impacts of human-induced climate change.” McCain has suggested only 60 percent cuts, and his campaign has wavered even on that.
Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL), who also endorsed McCain, “said he’d give McCain an ‘incomplete’ for saying that it’s ‘not the duty of government to bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly whether they’re big banks or small borrowers.’”
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McCain: “I don’t know what their position is…”
…”but I’m gonna criticize it anyways, my friends…”
March 31st, 2008 at 6:41 pmccokzblog
What a scandal! The pictures of the English paper are despicable and make u throw up. A grey-haired old man is laying nude on the floor, hes tied. Hes moaning for lust. A blond whore is measuring his chest size, is looking for germs on his head. According to the paper, the man in the video is Max-Mosley. Unbelievable accusation: the sado-maso role play is similiar to the cruel Nazi examinations in concentrations camps.
March 31st, 2008 at 6:43 pmhttp://ccoaler.blogspot.com/ 2008/ 03/ utah-saints-something-good08.html
anyway uhura. yeah i support cardasssian self-destruction
March 31st, 2008 at 6:44 pmI’m gonna criticize it anyways, my friends…”
Does he hand pick his audiences like chimpy does too. That’s the only way he can get away with calling everyone “his friend”
Personally, I want throw a brick at the TV everytime I hear him say “my Friends”
March 31st, 2008 at 6:56 pmThink Arnold could get a little more shoe polish in his hair? Sweet and sour Jesus, what a tired old queen.
March 31st, 2008 at 7:14 pmReal Progressive has a point. Terry Tamminen appears to be a liberal environmental activist — at least Republicans consider him liberal (which doesn’t always mean much) — yet TP calls him a conservative.
Please look into this, TP, and correct if necessary.
March 31st, 2008 at 7:20 pmIf anyone shows any concern whatsoever for the enviornment you can bet your a** that they are not a republican….why do you think that needed to be pointed out…..it seems so obvious.
March 31st, 2008 at 7:29 pmThis is political minutiae no one cares about. All Joe Average Voter will focus on is Arnold’s endorsement of McCain. End Of Days, indeed.
March 31st, 2008 at 7:31 pmWell, after all, Lieberman hasn’t whispered in McSame’s ear what to say yet.
March 31st, 2008 at 7:39 pmMcBush winning in November? He has just two things going for him. One is his reputation from the past, that he is a maverick, and somehow different from the Washington insiders. The other is the media, which appears to love him and acts accordingly. The maverick meme should be easy enough to destroy. Overcoming the media bias and enabling? That remains to be seen. They were complicit in the willful destruction of Al Gore’s reputation in 2000 which had definite bearing on the presidential outcome. (He never said he invented the internet for example.) I suspect that the Dem candidate will have to win in spite of the media, which in all probability, will enable the coming rethug smear campaign.
March 31st, 2008 at 7:50 pmWell, you endorsed him, musclehead. He likes his hugs, you know. Have fun nuzzling his floppy, powdery, sour-smelling waddle.
March 31st, 2008 at 8:44 pmNeither Senator Obama nor Senator Clinton have endorsed the referred to climate legislation, S.2191 the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act, although Senator Clinton did vote to pass the bill to the floor from the Environment and Public Works Committee. This bill, sponsored by Senators Lieberman (I-CT) and Warner (R-VA) creates a cap-and-trade scheme for 6 different greenhouse gases.
While Senator McCain may not have laid out his environmental policies as if he were President, it is worth noting that he has sponsored (not co-sponsored) the predecessors to this particular piece of legislation in two prior sessions. Senators Clinton and Obama didn’t even co-sponsor those GHG emission reduction plans. The difference between Lieberman-Warner and McCain-Lieberman is the scope of the regulated gases and the more-aggressive reduction targets. The auction principle with initial free-allocations of carbon dioxide-equivalent allowances (permits) remains the same.
Giving Senator McCain an “F” for not having detailed plans on the internet is nothing more than Terry Tamminen trying to get her name in a major newspaper by saying something outrageous, and a likely over-worked journalist (I watch The Wire) trying to sensationalize a story to make a deadline at the cost of doing some simple research on government websites.
Environmentalists should be thrilled Senator McCain is the Republican nominee, as he will surely sign significant climate change legislation after he wins in November.
March 31st, 2008 at 8:55 pm#7 ralph the wonder llama
http://www.terrytamminen.com
On that basis, I figured it was time I stop being coy and jump in too. I therefore declare my candidacy for president of the United States and, if elected, here’s my agenda:
1. Apologize to the world and get out of Iraq immediately. If the oil companies want their wells protected, let them hire the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who are currently the victims of our invasion and inept occupation to become security guards. Save over $100 billion a year.
2. While the recent U.S. House bill to reduce about $14 billion of oil subsidies is laudable, I would eliminate the other $100 billion too. Combined with my first point, that gives us $200 billion a year to work with on other priorities.
Here is part of his platform for when he threw his hat into the ring to run for President. It doesn’t sound conservative to me. I can not find on his personal website anywhere what his party affiliation is. Arnold did a very good job in hiring Terry.
March 31st, 2008 at 9:50 pmThanks, Freedom Rebel. I couldn’t find anything to indicate that he was conservative, either.
“Real Progressive” is about the dopiest troll we’ve got here at the moment, but he deserves credit for this revelation.
March 31st, 2008 at 10:00 pmIs the worst winter in decades over? Ok Good! Let the manmade global warming propaganda begin!
March 31st, 2008 at 10:16 pmwthedevil Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 10:16 pm
Man, another troll that can’t even be bothered to spell check his log-in name when he creates it.
Moving on…
March 31st, 2008 at 10:22 pmThat Guy 5 Says:
March 31st, 2008 at 8:55 pm
Environmentalists should be thrilled Senator McCain is the Republican nominee, as he will surely sign significant climate change legislation after he wins in November.
1) I’m not thrilled in the least by McCain.
April 1st, 2008 at 12:30 pm2) I doubt he has ANY climate change legislation. And if “he” has one, probably is a deceptive one, Republican style, wich will not be “significant” in any positive way or development for the environment.
Evil Spaniard-
Like the Washington Post reporter, you are also lazy. Go search the public THOMAS legislation database for Senator McCain’s prior legislative proposals in the 108th and 109th sessions of Congress.
Please note that I said “environmentalist” and not “hippie who thinks he cares about the environment.”
While you can pretend to get excited about a cap-and-trade proposal for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, just remember one thing: cap-and-trade is a Republican idea first suggested by George Schultz, President Reagan’s Secretary of State from 1982-1989.
April 1st, 2008 at 1:59 pmThe problem is America doesnt seem to want to commit to any sort of target aka Kyoto. I mean Senator Schwarzenegger does seem to have the right idea, but much more could be done.
Neil
July 19th, 2008 at 2:14 pmEphedra