Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) wants very much to be governor. So he has taken a lot of money from oil and gas interests. No doubt they have been impressed by his long record of climate denial, including his widely criticized witch hunt against climatologist Michael Mann.
That witch-hunt has now become part of the campaign, as explained in this must-see interview of Mann by MSNBC’s inimitable climate hawk, Chris Hayes:
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Mann notes that “Virginians have a very stark choice before them,” science vs. anti-science:
On the one hand, you have Terry McAuliffe who embraces science and technology, who recognizes that technological innovation is what’s going to help Virginia compete in the world of economy. And on the other hand you have Ken Cuccinelli, someone who views science as something to attack if it doesn’t comport with his ideological views or the views of the special interest that funds his campaigns.
Mann has a compelling story about how a climate scientist has been dragged into the public arena. As Chris Hayes says to him at the end, “You didn’t come to politics, politics came to you.”