The Republican Rapture-- Guest Post By Nicholas Ruiz III

As you probably know, Nicholas Ruiz is the first congressional candidate endorsed by Blue America for the 2012 cycle. He's running against a right-wing fanatic and egregious hypocrite, Sandy Adams, in FL-24. Yesterday we looked at Jerrold Nadler's analysis of the GOP push to wreck the social safety net. Since the well-being of NASA, one of the victims of the GOP spending jihad, is so critical to the economic recovery in Broward County, the heart of FL-24, I asked Nicholas if Adams was at least going to stand up for her own constituents on this matter. I had a feeling I knew the answer. Nicholas' guest post:

Never mind that the Arctic Sea ice and arctic snow are at the lowest levels recorded-- ever. Never mind that the year 2010 (tied with 2005) was the hottest world year recorded-- ever. And the ten hottest years ever recorded-- have all occurred within the last ten years, or so.

This is a result of a process science reveals as global warming – and it’s why research of the phenomenon is justified, desirable, and deserving of continued, if not expanded funding. It’s also why we need to pursue solar power, wind power, and other avenues of green energy policy in order to reduce the usage of a potent contributor to global warming: fossil fuel.

Apparently, Republicans like Sandy Adams (FL-24) and Bill Posey (Fl-15) don’t believe in global warming. Sort of like the way Republican Darrell Issa (CA-49) may not believe in the EPA or the USDA. If he did, why the quest to deregulate the Earth, the Sun and the Moon? If they do, why would they try to defund NASA’s global warming research?

Adams in her recent press release of Feb. 8, 2011:

“…[I]t is imperative that we ask ourselves: What is the future of NASA? …it is time to refocus NASA’s mission towards space exploration…that is why I am encouraging Chairmen Rogers and Wolf to reduce funding for climate change research, which undercuts one of NASA’s primary and most important objectives of human spaceflight.”

In the same press release Posey says:

“NASA’s primary purpose is human space exploration and directing NASA funds to study global warming undermines our ability to maintain our competitive edge in human space flight.”

Nonsense. NASA is a leader in global warming research and space exploration. And that is why other federal agencies frequently collaborate with NASA on global warming research projects. Here is a link to NASA’s climate work.

There is no reason to believe that NASA’s climate work need come at the expense of its space work; in fact, the two go hand in hand. The visionary thinking that fuels NASA’s eyes on the Earth is of the same source that NASA utilizes to research space. Much of NASA’s satellite technology developed over the past few decades has helped to research myriad phenomena from global warming and El Niño to atmospheric aerosols to sea and ice levels, hurricanes and the effects of solar radiation.

In 2010, Howard Dean told ABC News:

“One of the most disturbing things about the Republican Party over the last couple of decades is that just they don’t believe in science any more. And that is not an approach that is likely to generate any kind of creative thinking. Or any serious thinking about the future. People that use a snowstorm as an example of why global warming doesn’t exist don’t understand the science and they just don’t care.”

In 2010, NASA spent less than 10% of its budget on global warming and climate change research. Hardly excessive. Why in the world would Republicans seek to strip it from NASA’s budget?

Because the less we know about global warming the better? Or perhaps, because according to a 2010 poll by the Pew Research Center, greater than 80% of Republicans don’t believe that human activity causes global warming. Astonishingly, of those that identify as Tea Party Republicans, 70% do not think the Earth is warming at all! But such is the state or experience of a Republican Party being carried away by overwhelming emotion and underwhelming logic. Call it the radicalization of the American right.

Think about that the next time you consider the ‘merits’ of Republicanism.

At any rate, we move forward, with or without them. If the Republicans are eager to defund NASA, or defund Social Security, or defund healthcare initiatives, and strip workers of jobs, wages, rights and dignity-- Democrats need not let them. And we won’t-- but we need your help. Support progressive Democrats.

Defunding NASA’s global warming research is not the answer to saving and reinvesting in America. And pitting NASA’s space exploration against its global warming research is a false choice that only serves to defund knowledge itself. The Republican quest to defund, deregulate, depress and distort truth and social justice, will truly only materialize an America defined by a hollow. And that is the hallmark of a politics and philosophy of decay.

There are plenty of ways to save and reinvest in America’s projects, from space exploration to social welfare-- like cutting corporate tax loopholes, and reenacting New Deal era progressive taxation, and raising the minimum wage while tethering it to the consumer price index, so that perhaps, not so many households would require two full-time workers to make ends meet.

Or I guess we could leave it all in Republican hands-- since they’ve done such a remarkable job with healthcare. But as we recently learned and were reminded of-- they don’t believe in that either:



UPDATE: The Public Balking At Drastic Budget Cuts

Brevard County hasn't been polled about the cuts to NASA Sandy Adams and Bill Posey are demanding. But a poll was just released by Pew that shows the public is against this drastic-- and wrong-headed-- approach to fiscal stability.

Conservatives are fighting amongst themselves about how deep spending cuts should be this year. But they seem blithely unaware that there is little public support for spending cuts, much less deep cuts... At some point you’d think conservatives would realize that they and the public are not on the same page when it comes to cutting government spending. But that would require looking beyond ideology to actual realities.

An out right majority or a plurality want to see increases in areas being targeted by Republicans, such as public education, veterans benefits, college financial aid, aid to the needy, healthcare. When it comes to scientific research 73% of Americans want it either increased or left alone. Only 23% agree with Adams and Posey that it should be cut. The numbers were exactly the same on energy funding.