Think Progress

Graham Claims McCain Has Done ‘Even More’ Than Al Gore On Global Warming»

graham-mccainweb2.jpgAn online ABC News article on the “surrogate wars” of this year’s presidential election quoted Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), an ardent supporter of Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) candidacy, saying that McCain has “earned a reputation…of doing things that put the country ahead of party.” As an example, Graham cited McCain’s environmental record, claiming that it’s stronger that former Vice President Al Gore’s:

“He’s not going to run away from President Bush but at the end of the day, John McCain has earned a reputation, and has the scars to show it, of doing things that put the country ahead of party,” Graham said, noting McCain has differed with the party on immigration, his desire to close Guantanamo Bay, and enacting robust climate change policies.

“Climate change is the road less traveled but he’s traveled it even more than Al Gore,” Graham said. “Al Gore has talked about it and deserves great recognition but he was around here a long time and never introduced a bill.”

On its face, Graham’s claim is laughable. But digging deeper into the substance, it rings of pure absurdity. In fact, Gore held the first congressional hearings on climate change in the late 1970s, well before McCain was even elected to Congress.

In 1997, Gore helped broker the Kyoto Protocol which called for nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Despite the passing of a Senate resolution stating that the U.S should not join Kyoto, Gore symbolically signed the protocol in November, 1998. While McCain voted for the resolution condemning Kyoto, he claims today that “we have an obligation” to cut greenhouse gases but still thinks the U.S. “did the right thing by not joining the Kyoto treaty.”

Moreover, the evidence shows that McCain is confused on environmental issues. He now supports ethanol despite previously criticizing it. McCain has talked tough on capping carbon emissions but failed to even vote on key Senate legislation addressing the issue. Furthermore, he doesn’t seem to understand his own position on cap-and-trade:

In the Republican debate in Florida, he denied that his cap-and-trade program included a mandatory cap on carbon. (One wonders what he thought that first word was doing in there.) He has said he won’t support a cap-and-trade bill unless it includes extra support for nuclear power (because nuclear power is low-carbon), not seeming to grok the fact that the whole point of a cap-and-trade program is to raise prices on carbon, offering a de facto subsidy to all low-carbon options.

While Gore was starring in the Oscar winning global warming documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” and being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on climate change, McCain has been trying to build an environmental record that is just strong enough to anger conservatives and fool the media into continuing to call him a “maverick.” But the reality is that McCain’s record falls well short of the leadership Gore has shown on the issue.

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55 Responses to “Graham Claims McCain Has Done ‘Even More’ Than Al Gore On Global Warming”


  1. Marie Says:

    Graham is pathetic.


  2. ForTruth Says:

    If Graham mean that McCain has done more for global warming by sleeping more and eating less food, then yes, this is correct.


  3. RUCerious Says:

    Hey! Lindsay! What are you talkin about?
    Look! Over there! Shiny stuff!

    Now quit inflating your grandad doll.


  4. Who Misspoke Today? Says:

    A Convenient Lie


  5. hellinabucket Says:

    That Graham, he’s one crazy kracker.


  6. StratRat Says:

    To lie is good…To lie all the time is better. Ahhhh, the Republican noise machine runs at full steam - everyday.


  7. Zee Says:

    Wow. What will they think of next?

    They can say anything, because if a rethug says it, it’s gospel.

    I guess we can marvel at the disconnect the way tourists marvel at the Grand Canyon.


  8. Badmoodman Says:

    Every time McCain pontificates he shoots that theory all to hell.


  9. Exit Stage Left Says:

    Does anyone pay attention to that schmuck?


  10. NOLIESPLEASE Says:

    Sticking a finger up the ass and twirling does not constitute cleaning up the enviroment!


  11. MapleStreet Says:

    Sorry Librals, but McCain has done much more than Al Gore on Global Warming.

    Of course, there has been the difference that McCain acted FOR global warming while Gore seems to be against it.


  12. McWars Says:

    Wanna bet Lindsey is on the top-5 list for Veep?


  13. fletc3her Says:

    This is standard Republican playbook stuff. Remember when people were seriously, serioiusly!, debating whether candidate Al Gore or candidate George Bush would provide better stewardship for the environment. George Bush has a solar panel on his ranch and likes clearing brush. That somehow trumps Al Gore’s lifelong record of fighting for the environment and writing books like Earth in the Balance.

    Of course, once elected George Bush and Dick Cheney vowed not to be constrained by the promises which they had to make to get elected. George Bush will rank among the worst stewards of the environment in history.

    Now, why is McCain running against Gore?


  14. Shayne Says:

    Hey Lindsey, that big old man crush you have on McCain is making you sound dumber than usual, if that’s possible.


  15. linda Says:

    did the reporter ask for any examples of st john’s long, long history of advancing environmental protections.


  16. nanlichi Says:

    #13 You are right, and he has been auditioning for the position for months.

    Second in the daisy chain.


  17. McWars Says:

    I must mention that Graham is the complete schmuck of the U.S. Senate. I really can’t stand that rodent.


  18. stewarjt Says:

    Lindsay has an embarrassingly open, fawning, ass kissing man crush on McBane for some Freudian reason.


  19. impeachcheneythenbush Says:

    Is it too soon to start laying bets on who McCain is going to choose for his number 2? Right now, I’m thinking either Graham or Lieberman. Maybe Huckabee? I don’t think he’d go with Romney…way too many bad feelings there and I doubt McCain trusts Romney not to stick him in the back…literally. Guiliani proved himself to be quite a looser, and I would doubt McCain would want to team tag with him either.


  20. Who Misspoke Today? Says:

    Wow, that photo is just begging for someone who has Photoshop. It reminds me of:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Americangothic.jpg


  21. impeachcheneythenbush Says:

    From the League of Conservation Voters Scorecard, 109th Congress (Senate). (Doesn’t go back as far as Gore when he was in the Senate.) But his record on the environment is deep and long.

    From the 109th Congress (Senate)

    McCain - 41%
    Graham - 22%
    Obama - 96%
    Clinton - 89%

    http://capwiz.com/ lcv_stage/ dbq/ vote_info/ ?offset=0&length=40&session=109&chamber=S&command=results&sort=Last&state=


  22. Keith Says:

    Forgetting for a moment that it is not true…..Is this supposed to gain him Repub votes or lose Repub votes? Immigration? Global Warming? Close Guantanomo? My head is spinning.


  23. Keith Says:

    Gin, so Gore should have dumped his first wife for a younger $250 million BEER heiress like McCain?


  24. Shayne Says:

    Gin Says:
    April 3rd, 2008 at 2:56 pm

    The headline is backward again.
    “Global Warming” has done more for AlGore (at least his pocketbook) than it has for McCain.

    And the war in Iraq has done more to line Dick Cheney’s pockets than “Global Warming” has done for Al Gore.

    Is that why we’re in Iraq? Al Gore held the first hearings on the climate in the 70s. When did Cheney start planning the war and to have all his corporations in place to rake in billions off the privatizing of the war?


  25. robbez_92107 Says:

    Oh, Lindsey, your begging for VP is just going to make LIEberman jealous.
    Besides, it’s getting embarassing for the rest of us.


  26. katy Says:

    OT - … oh no…

    just found out..

    Air America Suspends Rhodes
    Streaming Magazine, FL - 4 minutes ago
    NEW YORK — April 3, 2008: Air America Radio host Randi Rhodes has been suspended for what the network called “inappropriate statements about prominent …

    http://news.google.com/ news?hl=en&ned=us&q=randi+rhodes&btnG=Search+News


  27. Zimzone Says:

    Shane said: When did Cheney start planning the war and to have all his corporations in place to rake in billions off the privatizing of the war?

    Right after he got his deferments, I’d guess. Of course, being CEO of Halliburton & leading the WH Iraq Group didn’t hurt, either.

    Anyone know how much Big Dick’s net worth has increased since he got Halliburton into Iraq?


  28. And Yet... Says:

    Huckleberry Graham knows if he says this loud enough & long enough, the mainstream media will make it the truth. Just watch it happen & weep, Dems.

    MSM has already decided John McCain should be the next President.

    Every time you turn on the tv news between now & Nov. ‘08 the message will be St. John Can Do No Wrong, He Only Does What’s RIght. People who watch the tv for their only source of news will sucker up & vote McBush.


  29. A Patriot Acting Says:

    “John McCain has earned a reputation, and has the scars to show it, of doing things that put the country ahead of party,” Graham said.

    He then went on to say, “now me on the other hand, I have never put country ahead of party.” He then left quickly to have a good cry with his BFFs Boehner and Mukasey.


  30. Freedom Rebel Says:

    Did some research, You will love this one!!

    While Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has touted his support for the environment throughout his presidential campaign, the League of Conservation Voters gave him a zero rating Thursday on its 2007 congressional scorecard — making him the lowest-ranking lawmaker among all 535 members of Congress.

    McCain, who has a lifetime rating of 24 from the group, missed every single vote the environmental group identified as critical last year. Carl Pope, executive director of the advocacy group Sierra Club, said in a statement that the senator scored lower than some lawmakers who had died in the middle of the term.

    We were appalled two weeks ago when John McCain was the only senator who chose to skip a crucial vote on the future of clean energy in America-dooming the measure to fail by just a single vote,” Pope said. “As it turns out, this was merely the most recent example of a clear pattern of missing the most important votes on energy and the environment — as his abysmal LCV score clearly demonstrates.”

    He scored lower than some lawmakers that had died in the middle of their term.

    You just can’t make this stuff up… McCain shoots himself in the foot again. If he never makes it to vote, then he is being paid for what reason??? Inquiring minds want to know..


  31. Zimzone Says:

    Freedom Rebel said: He, (McCain), scored lower than some lawmakers that had died in the middle of their term.

    Can we be sure he’s not dead? Is he really a sock puppet?…

    …and where is Graham’s hand all the time? It’s never in a picture.


  32. raynman Says:

    Tell a lie long enough and with enough conviction, it soon replaces the truth.

    This works especially well when the ‘watchdog’ media sits on its hands…


  33. RUCerious Says:

    How does McCain get those Lindsay lip marks off his butt each night before he goes to beddie bye?


  34. RUCerious Says:

    Vice President Graham, Cracker.

    Has a nice familiar ring to it.


  35. L. Hussein Annie Says:

    Oh, blech!!!

    Why does this remind me of when I was 13 years old and I bought “Tiger Beat” magazine for the pictures of Davy Jones…??


  36. Freedom Rebel Says:

    #33 Zimzone

    He looks dead, he smells dead, I’m thinkin he is dead.

    You get to kick him to see if he moves… then we will all know for sure.


  37. Freedom Rebel Says:

    #35 RUCerious

    His wife helps him with makeup remover.. then tucks him in.


  38. McWars Says:

    katy Says:
    April 3rd, 2008 at 3:13 pm

    I’m sorry to hear that. Hillary is ruffling too many feathers at this point and it would be best, for the cohesion of this party, for her to respectfully bow out and endorse Obama.


  39. sashimi Says:

    what the huck?! are we talking about Sen. McSame? he’s working hard, meaning he’s lying through the teeth, for.. let’s say, AG office?


  40. Freedom Rebel Says:

    #29 Zimzone

    You wanted to know how much Cheney is worth.. Read and Weep.

    Vice-President Dick Cheney’s net worth at just under $100 million. The biggest assets in Cheney’s portfolio were mutual fund holdings in the American Century International Bond Fund and the Vanguard Group’s Short-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Admiral Shares, each worth between $5 million and $25 million.

    Cheney also owns Ballintober, a nine acre waterfront estate in St. Michaels, Maryland that he bought for $2.7 million in September 2005. (Maryland must be very “in” among the rich and powerful these days.

    And while no one is claiming that Cheney has any secret bank accounts (or even accounts in secure undisclosed locations), it’s worth noting that Cheney and his wife’s income in 2005 was $8.8 million, the bulk of it from stock options accumulated during his days at Halliburton, a company that has no less than 17 subsidiaries incorporated in offshore tax havens. Indeed, during Cheney’s time as CEO of Halliburton, the number of the company’s offshore tax haven subsidiaries rose from 9 to 44. This kind of corporate sleight of hand is siphoning off an estimated $100 billion a year in collectable revenues from the U.S. Treasury.

    He was a crook even back then..what a surprise. Oh a footnote on this.. This is as 2006..he has had another year to accumulate even more…


  41. dasm Says:

    Does he actually think anyone will believe this lie? It’s truly amazing how Repubs & Repub propoganda pundits make up these insane stories to make McCain into something he never will be.


  42. Fred Says:

    I don’t want to hear another republican talking about a democrat stretching the truth or skirting the truth. What I have seen today by the right wing has been nothing but out and out lies.

    It looks like one or two journalists would just be too ashamed to not call them on thier absolute lies.

    These are not even stretches……it is dishonest and reproachable.


  43. Fred Says:

    Gin Says:
    The headline is backward again.
    “Global Warming” has done more for AlGore (at least his pocketbook) than it has for McCain.

    I consider this to be a patently dishonest thing to say.

    I am highly offended to even see you comparing Al Gore to mccain in the first place but to imply that Al’s motivation is money is just dishonest and proves that you will say anything to keep the truth from being known.

    I will add that only a coward would do such a thing.

    You are right about it not doing much for mccain because the truth will come out and he will look foolish again….getting to be what you expect from mccain……foolish, erronious, statements about things he very obviously knows very little.


  44. ralph the wonder llama Says:

    Rotgut Gin Says:

    And what’s wrong with BEER? I use more of it than Ketchup.

    This is the first thing Rotgut Gin has said in weeks that made perfect sense. My guess is she uses beer to get her “inspiration” flowing when she’s preparing to comment on TP.


  45. nellieh Says:

    WTF? Don’t these politicians even stop to think how stupid their remarks sound and are? Do they always think they are speaking to the choir? If it isn’t a religious wingnut, it is a rightwing nut or a politician nut. Graham should put his rugs on e-Bay. He could get his $5.00 back and give him something to do except make an ass out of himself.


  46. Zooey Says:

    Graham wants to be VP so bad, he can taste it.


  47. Loonie Says:

    Graham’s comment must have been taken out of context, he was obviously referring to actions regarding the obfuscation of the issue.

    You know, otherwise he’d be a blatantly lying sack of slime. Surely that can’t be the case


  48. RUCerious Says:

    L. Hussein Annie Says:
    April 3rd, 2008 at 3:21 pm
    Oh, blech!!!

    Mad Magazine subliminal reference?


  49. Freedom Rebel Says:

    #46 Fred

    You give Gin hell.. Good Job. Al Gore donated all of his proceeds from the video, his book and proceeds from his future book to the $300 million proposal. He personally has contributed $2.7 million dollars towards his plan, because he believes so strongly in Global Warming.

    I agree with you, there is no comparing Al Gore to McCain.


  50. williamf Says:

    You gotta admit these guys are really funny sometimes. Graham had to work hard to get his bullshit factor up on this one. He better hope no one asks McClone any detailed questions about global warming because he’ll get all tongue tied. I’d put Al Gore up against “Grandpa” anytime. Al could kick his ass on global warming and any other topic. McClone is definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed. A war hero yes, and I thank him for his service. Now it’s time to join the VFW and go have a drink and tell war stories with his buddies.


  51. Loonie Says:

    Gin has obviously been hitting the gin quite often these days.


  52. Robt Says:

    Lindsey still thinks he has a chance at McCain’s V.P. ?

    Lieberman has a better chance. Lindsey may be in trouble for his own senate seat next election…….So he looking for work with McCain by saying anything. After all, we all understand that Lindsey is the world’s most knowlegable on the subject of Global Warming. Like he knows how to get a good deal on mid eastern rugs in a war zone. % rugs for five bucks. And the taxpayers expense for their shopping protection- At least a million…….


  53. Freedom Rebel Says:

    #55 Gin

    Get Your Facts Straight Check Out Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2006/0605/046.html

    Al Gore had a Net Worth of $800,000 a year before the Election. He signed on as part-time Senior Advisor in 2001 with Google. What did he get as compensation-no one is saying. But if any of it is in Stock Options. For a reference point, compare Eric Schmidt, who joined a month later as the chairman and got equity now worth $5.2 billion. If Gore’s stake is just a sliver in comparison, it could still be an immense sum.

    He earned it the old fashion way, he worked for it. And he deserves it. He made smart decisions, but he still donated the proceeds from all of those projects that I mentioned earlier in the thread. So you are going to condemn Al for being smart. WOW-your missing the point about the good old USA, the sky is the limit. It’s called entrepreneurship. That is what has made our country great.


  54. turkeyfish Says:

    I’m soon we shall soon learn that McCain has “invented the internet” too!

    Don’t these repugnantcans have any use any more for the commandment “Thou shall not bear false witness”?

    That the “faithful” still put stock in such phoneys is nothing short of a miracle.


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