Kerry Gingrich Global Warming Urgency

Kerry and Gingrich Hugging Trees -- and (Almost) Each Other
By Dana Milbank
Wednesday, April 11, 2007; A02

Yesterday's global-warming debate between John Kerry and Newt Gingrich was, as the moderator put it, "advertised as a smack-down and a prizefight." But those labels were too modest for Kerry.

"Welcome to our environmental version of the Lincoln-Douglas debates," the former Democratic presidential nominee told the crowd in the Russell Caucus Room. "We flipped a coin, and I picked Lincoln."

But something funny happened on the way to 1858. Gingrich, a former Republican House speaker, refused to play Douglas to Kerry's Lincoln, instead positioning himself as a tree-hugging green.

Before Kerry got a word in, Gingrich conceded that global warming is real, that humans have contributed to it and that "we should address it very actively." Gingrich held up Kerry's new book, "This Moment on Earth," and called it "a very interesting read." He then added a personal note about saving vulnerable species from climate change. "My name, Newt, actually comes from the Danish Knut, and there's been a major crisis in Germany over a polar bear named Knut," he confided.

The warm and fuzzy Gingrich surprised Kerry, who jettisoned prepared remarks that accused the former speaker of "marching in lock step with the climate-change deniers." Instead, Kerry found himself saying: "I've always enjoyed every dialogue he and I have ever had." He added that "your statement is very, very important" and gushed: "I frankly appreciate the candor."

The debate ended. They shook hands. Kerry put an arm around Gingrich. Gingrich put an arm around Kerry. For a brief but terrifying moment, they appeared to be on the verge of a hug...

continued

Until yesterday, Gingrich and Kerry were not likely candidates for an embrace. When Kerry was running for president in 2004, Gingrich said the senator "thrashed and smeared and lied about U.S. soldiers" and was guilty of "consistent distortion over and over and over again on every front."

But Gingrich, weighing a long-shot presidential run, is unpredictable. He proved that by meeting with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to discuss common ground on health care, and yesterday it was Kerry's turn to be surprised when Gingrich preemptively distanced himself from President Bush on global warming. "I agree entirely with whatever criticism the senator wants to make in general about the absence of American leadership," he said.

Even his one big difference with Kerry -- Gingrich favored tax incentives to reduce carbon dioxide rather than a government "cap and trade" program -- was negotiable. "I am not automatically saying that coercion and bureaucracy is not an answer," he granted.

Kerry appeared uncomfortable as Gingrich impersonated Al Gore. The senator tapped his foot, drummed his fingers, folded his arms and looked around the room with a crooked grin. He tried, at first, to lure Gingrich into a confrontation. "The essence of what I just heard from Newt," he said, is that climate change is "not such a crisis that we have to respond quickly."

Gingrich protested this mischaracterization. "We're not arguing over whether it should be urgent," he said.

Kerry persisted: "We're arguing over the level of the urgency."

"The question of urgency isn't what's being debated here," Gingrich repeated.

Finally, Kerry relented. "I'm excited to hear you talk about the urgency," he said. But "what would you say to Senator [Jim] Inhofe [R-Okla.] and to others in the Senate who are resisting even the science?"

Gingrich didn't hesitate. "My message," he said, "is that the evidence is sufficient that we should move towards the most effective possible steps to reduce carbon loading of the atmosphere." The pro-Kerry crowd applauded.

"And do it urgently?" the senator pressed.

"And do it urgently, yeah," the former speaker replied. "I think there has to be, if you will, a green conservatism," he added.

Kerry didn't know quite what to do with his agreeable opponent. "I'm a little confused about sort of where Newt comes from on this," he said at first. Later, Kerry tried to switch places with Gingrich, branding him a big-government liberal. "You know, this is a huge transition," he exclaimed. "You actually want the government to do it. I want the private sector to do it."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/10/AR2007041001457_pf.html

Newt Gingrich: Evidence for man-made global warming - urgency

During the debate on global climate change between John Kerry and Newt Gingrich, Kerry interrupted Gingrich's time at one point to ask:

What would you say to Senator Inofe?

I'd say there is sufficient evidence ... science... that we need to act...

Is there urgency?

There is urgency... it's a matter of differences on our approaches... which of our two models is going to incite a new generation of solutions...

http://www.c-span.org/watch/cs_cspan_rm.asp?Cat=TV&Code=CS

Warned you...

Great question from audience member ... you both agree on the problem, the urgency... why don't you combine the two...

Exactly, they're both the same coin...

We've written before Newt Gingrich is a globalist and he's aligned himself with Heidi and Alvin Toffler who proposed a New Constitution for America way back...

Let's make it easy for you all by posting a great piece by APFN

THE SPEAKER'S AMBITION: A SECULAR, GLOBAL STATE ...Mr. Gingrich has an organization misnamed the "Progress and Freedom Foundation", which has published a book by futurists Alvin and Heidi Toffler entitled, Creating a New Civilization: The Politics of the Third Wave. Gingrich wrote the forward for the book in which he said, "In this 100 pages you'll begin to sense what the 21st century America, the 21st century Government, and the 21st century Congress need to be." Mr. Gingrich stated, " I am proud to be a part of the third wave information revolution."

Because the Tofflers are not running for political office they do not need, nor do they attempt, to assume the conservative, Bible-thumping exterior that Mr. Gingrich does. Their book basically outlines three waves: the first being agricultural, second industrial and the third the information age. The new Third Wave civilization into which we are now supposedly entering is "based on new, non-nuclear families." They also assert that it is useless to speak of Second Wave "values, as though one could return to the values and morality of the 1950's....We will need to prepare people for work in such fields as human services....Majority rule is increasingly obsolete. It is not majorities, but minorities that count....The Constitution of the U.S. needs to be altered...the system must die and be replaced....Nationalism is (Second Wave)...as economies are transformed by the Third Wave, they are compelled to surrender part of their sovereignty." (Source: The Road to Socialism and the New World Order by Dennis L. Cuddy, Ph.D.).


http://www.apfn.org/THEWINDS/1997/03/newt_gingrich.html

Gingrich a Global Warmer Now Supporter?

grab our cheat sheet for the so-called debate on global warming between Newt Gingrich and John Kerry scheduled for 10 a.m. to be broadcast on C-Span today.

C-Span cleverly captures the real feel of the event in its summary.

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
Global Warming Debate
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and Fmr. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich debate the government's role in confronting global warming. The event is sponsored by New York Univ.'s John Brademas Center for the Study of Congress. This is part of the Center's series on the way Congress makes long-term policy decisions...

http://www.c-span.org/

Note: the government's role in confronting global warming...

That's what the pair will debate. How much regulation on industry, how much taxation, carbon offsets, and so forth. They won't be debating the role of man in contributing to global warming.

this is a smokescreen debate, but we'll be watching...

Yesterday, we found Newt's own words on the issue from an interview he engaged in with Hugh Hewett:

global warming debate Newt-John style

Newt Gingrich with advice on what to do about Iran, immigration, gay marriage, guns, global warming, and life issues.
The Hugh Hewitt Show 3-28-07 at 6:52 PM

HH: All right. Last question, global warming, do you believe it is happening? And if so, is it caused by humans? And if so, what should we do about it?

NG: I think there are prudent grounds for believing that there’s a pattern of warming underway, although we don’t know precisely what it means. And I think there are prudent grounds for believing as a conservative that if you can find an economically rational way to reduce the amount of carbon loading, it’s a good thing to do. But it should not be used as an excuse to create gigantic government bureaucracies on behalf of the left through fundamentally dishonest scare tactics, such as Gore’s movie...

http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/Transcript_Page.aspx?ContentGuid=78c606c8-4ec0-4d01-9fc2-b44e1f3c9657

global warming debate Newt-John style

Don't miss Big Guys Climate Debate between Newt Gingrich and John Kerry 10 AM tomorrow, April 10, 2007. How far apart are the pair on the issue of man-made global warming?

Cheat Sheet for Kerry Gingrich Climate Showdown

http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2007/04/cheat-sheet-for-kerry-gingrich-climate.html

Climate of Fear

http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2007/04/climate-of-fear.html

Don't be surprised or shocked when Newt and John come out sounding pretty much alike... after all Newt is a futurist...

and he doesn't deny anything, he seems to merely be opposed to the Kyoto treaty...

http://www.newt.org/backpage.asp?art=2649

And when you read this, you'll know Newt is a good contortionist...

Newt Gingrich with advice on what to do about Iran, immigration, gay marriage, guns, global warming, and life issues.
The Hugh Hewitt Show 3-28-07 at 6:52 PM

HH: All right. Last question, global warming, do you believe it is happening? And if so, is it caused by humans? And if so, what should we do about it?

NG: I think there are prudent grounds for believing that there’s a pattern of warming underway, although we don’t know precisely what it means. And I think there are prudent grounds for believing as a conservative that if you can find an economically rational way to reduce the amount of carbon loading, it’s a good thing to do. But it should not be used as an excuse to create gigantic government bureaucracies on behalf of the left through fundamentally dishonest scare tactics, such as Gore’s movie...

http://hughhewitt.townhall.com/Transcript_Page.aspx?ContentGuid=78c606c8-4ec0-4d01-9fc2-b44e1f3c9657

...recently heard one of Newt's Winning the Future segments where he talked about how we can "solve" global warming and reduce the "man-made effects" of it. This really concerns me. Does Newt actually believe man-made global warming is a serious problem? If so, it really discourages me. I thought Newt was much too learned and well-read to fall for a dopey scam like Al Gore's man-made global warming...

http://www.newt.org/forum/topic.asp?fi=20000001&catId=30000004&ti=400001725

Newt Gingrich, environmentalist?
Fri, 2007-03-30 10:16 — Fred Bortz
According to Publishers Weekly, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and conservationist Terry L. Maple have written A Contract with the Earth, which the Johns Hopkins University Press will publish on November 1, 2007. I will certainly review that book for my newspaper clients and post my review on my Science Shelf web site.

This is definitely a book to watch for. Is Newt Gingrich acknowledging that the time for denial is past? He will certainly advocate a different approach from the one Al Gore favors, but it looks like he is calling for bipartisan action on this issue...

http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/newt-gingrich-environmentalist-12906.html

April 10, 2007
A Conversation on Global Climate Change and the Environment
Senator John Kerry, author of This Moment on Earth, and Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, author of Winning the Future: A 21st Century Contract with America, will come together for a lively discussion on the timely topics of global climate change and the environment. This conversation is part of a broader project of the John Brademas Center for the Study of Congress on "Legislating for the Future." The project is designed to ask whether and how Congress can make wise decisions about long-term policy issues such as global environmental change...

http://www.nyu.edu/brademas/programs.events/

Kerry, Gingrich announce climate showdown By Jeremy Jacobs April 05, 2007
Former House Speaker and possible presidential candidate Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and 2004 Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry (Mass.) are set to square off on climate change next week, their staffs announced Thursday.

The debate, hosted by New York University’s John Brademas Center for the Study of Congress, will take place next Tuesday, April 10, at 10 a.m. in the Russell Senate Office Building...

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/kerry-gingrich-announce-climate-showdown-2007-04-05.html

finding funny stuff all across the net

Kerry and Gingrich Prepare for Smackdown
By Mary Ann Akers | April 4, 2007; 5:00 PM ET
Out of the presidential race but still itching to be a part of it all, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) seems to be trying to position himself as the Newt Gingrich of his party. You know, the thinking man who tries to steer the debate, frame the issues that candidates should be discussing, and hog air time.

We'll see how well Kerry does in his aspiring role next week when he goes head-to-head with Gingrich in a debate on the environment.

Hosted by New York University's John Brademas Center for the Study of Congress, the forum, which may seem boring on its face, has some realSmackdown potential: big hair, big egos and lots of hot air.

Gingrich, who still hasn't ruled out a presidential run, and Kerry are both skilled orators and debaters. (They're practically poster children for the National Forensic League, aka the high school speech and debate club.) And both, perhaps Gingrich more than Kerry, are convinced they know best. Kerry, after all, doesn't have the time-tested gimmick Gingrich has: a "Contract with America for the 21st Century."...

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/sleuth/2007/04/kerry_and_gingrich_prepare_for.html

Kerry on it...

http://kerryblog.blogspot.com/