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Mediamatters.Org - During
the August 29 edition of PBS' NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, New York Times columnist David Brooks
asserted of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin: "She's evangelical, but she's
pretty progressive on gay and lesbian issues. She's for drilling in ANWR
[Arctic National Wildlife Refuge], but she talks about global warming quite a
lot." But Brooks did not mention what Palin has actually said on the subject
of global warming. In
fact, Newsmax Magazine reported that in an
interview, Palin said of global warming, "I'm not one though who would
attribute it to being man-made," a position that puts her at odds with the United Nations
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which has concluded that "[t]here is very high confidence that
the net effect of human
activities since 1750
has been one of warming"
and that "[m]ost of the observed increase in globally-averaged temperatures since
the mid-20th century is very likely due
to the observed increase in anthropogenic GHG (greenhouse gases) concentrations" (emphases
in original). Nor did
Brooks note that Palin reportedly opposed giving spousal benefits to same-sex
partners of public employees.
In an interview for the
September issue of Newsmax Magazine,
Palin was asked: "What is your take on global warming and how is it
affecting our country?" She responded: "A changing environment will
affect Alaska
more than any other state, because of our location. I'm not one though who
would attribute it to being man-made."
Palin has reportedly made similar remarks
about global warming in the past. For instance, on December 31, 2006, the Anchorage Daily News reported that
"[d]uring last fall's [gubernatorial] political campaign, Gov. Sarah Palin said she remained
unconvinced about how much human emissions contribute to current global warming trends. She endorsed
the work being undertaken by a new Alaska Climate Impact Assessment Commission
created by the Legislature last May, which she said would help provide Alaskans
with answers. But the Legislature steered away from addressing broader causes
of global warming and potential
solutions when it created the panel." Similarly, in a November 4, 2006, article, the Daily News reported:
The
candidates for governor all agree that global climate change is presenting
serious problems for Alaska,
but there is some disagreement over what the source of that problem is.
[...]
Palin
isn't so sure it's not a natural warming cycle, according to her spokesman,
Curtis Smith.
"She's
not totally convinced one way or the other," Smith said. "Science will
tell us, and she's proud that UAF [University of Alaska-Fairbanks] will have a
role in that. She thinks the jury's still out."
"I
will not pretend to have all the answers," Palin said about global warming
at the recent Alaska Federation of Natives convention, where delegates passed a
resolution calling for a mandatory reduction in pollution affecting the
atmosphere.
Answering
a question from the Daily News, Palin cautioned against
"overreaction." She has called the Alaska Climate Change Impact
Assessment Commission report due next March a good place to start. The
commission was created by the Legislature last year. Its seven members were
named Wednesday.
Additionally, Brooks gave no evidence
that Palin is "pretty progressive on gay and lesbian issues." Nor
did he note that, as Media Matters for
America has documented, while Palin
vetoed a bill in 2006 that would have prevented state officials from granting
spousal benefits, her actions followed a 2005 Alaska Supreme Court ruling that the state's
policy of denying spousal benefits to same-sex partners of public employees
violated the Alaska Constitution and a 2006 state Supreme Court order requiring the
state to issue regulations granting such benefits by January 1, 2007. In the veto message,
Palin's office stated that she disagreed with the Alaska Supreme
Court's actions: "The Governor's veto does not signal any change or
modification to her disagreement with the action and order by the Alaska
Supreme Court." Further, as a candidate for governor, Palin also
reportedly supported efforts to
prohibit state benefits for same-sex couples. The Anchorage Daily News reported on August 6,
2006, that Palin believes "[e]lected officials can't defy the court when
it comes to how rights are applied, she said, but she would support a ballot
question that would deny benefits to homosexual couples. 'I believe that
honoring the family structure is that important,' Palin said. She said she
doesn't know if people choose to be gay."
From the August 29 edition of PBS' NewsHour with Jim Lehrer:
LEHRER:
Do you think that's -- do you think that has any possibility of actually
working, that women would vote -- well, that's -- that's the question.
BROOKS:
Yes, I do, and the fact that she is working class. She is, as she says, a
hockey mom, which I guess is tougher than a soccer mom. She -- you know, her
husband's a member of a union. She said she works with her hands. She's not a pretentious
person. You know, they were not going to nominate Mitt Romney and have the two
wealthy guys. So that's good. And I think the second thing -- and, again, this
is all contingent on the fact she does well, which we really don't know.
LEHRER:
Sure.
BROOKS:
But I thought she did well today. But the second thing to be said is she is an
under-45 Republican. That means she's unwedded to Reaganism. She's a --
she's evangelical, but she's pretty progressive on gay and lesbian
issues. She's for drilling in ANWR, but she talks about global warming quite a
lot. She's got different categories in her head than, I think, the older
conservatives who are pretty much down the line ideologically.
LEHRER:
During the campaign, though, what does it do now for the experience issue?
Because that was going to be a big one between McCain and
Obama.
Media Matters - Offering no evidence, NY Times ' Brooks claimed Palin "pretty progressive on gay and lesbian issues," "talks about global warming quite a lot" {...} New York Times columnist David Brooks asserted of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin: "She's evangelical, but she's pretty progressive on gay and lesbian issues. She's for drilling in ANWR [Arctic National Wildlife Refuge], but she talks about global warming quite a lot." But Palin has reportedly said of global warming, "I'm not one though who would attribute it to being man-made," a position at odds with findings by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; she has also reportedly opposed giving spousal benefits to same-sex partners of public employees. {...} Published: August 30, 2008, 11:49 pm - Indexed: August 31, 2008, 12:25 am - Page Size: 25KB |