Ideology: Why Bush Won't Deal with Climate Change

By Joel Wendland

So the Bush administration has admitted that global warming is real and that something must be done to scale back human contributions to our certain destruction – to the chagrin of his supporters who for years have joined him to either block serious discussion of global warming or who vigorously denied its reality.

But now that the US has a chance to do something about the problem at the Bali conference, Bush blocked every measure being offered.

Media reports indicate that countries like China and India and others are prepared to agree to international standards on greenhouse emissions, so Bush can't use them as an excuse anymore.

Still he has refused to accept standards.

Up to this point Bush attempted to scuttle serious discussion on climate change and controlling carbon emissions by holding his own conference and attempting to create side agreements that allow countries to voluntarily control emissions. This of course was no serious plan.

Everyone has to do it or doesn't work.

So once again we're treated to a dismal Bush administration policy failure: no action for a serious global problem that threatens humanity (reminds one of Bush's response to Katrina, the health care crisis, economic problems, budget deficits, the sub-prime mortgage problem).

But the fact is that, in addition to the corporate interests that back Bush and that view international standards on carbon emissions as cap on their profit margins, a straight line can be drawn from Bush's right-wing ideology of free markets, anti-government sophistry, obsession with war, and refusal to cooperate with the international community – hallmarks of Republican Party politics (see also McCain, Huckabee, Tancredo, Thompson, Romney, Paul, etc.) – to his refusal to make a serious effort to address real problems.

He and his right-wing cronies in the FOX media echo chamber would rather invent crises with Iran and immigrants, or even with the "war on Christmas."

This serious inability to live in and deal with reality is probably a key reason why US voters have begun the process of dumping Republican one-party rule, and will finish the job in November 2008.