Media Blathers: Governor Palin and Global Warming Climate Change

[Hat tip to fellow C4P contributor Tommy Report for alerting me to this story.]

Our liberal progressive friends at Media Matters' offshoot site, Media Matters Action Network, decided to close out 2009 with an attack on Governor Palin's consistency on the issue of anthropogenic (i.e. man-made) global warming/climate change/ManBearPig.

The post, entitled "Sarah Palin Calls Herself Arrogant & Naive", attempts to prove that Palin used to endorse the theory that global warming is a human-caused phenomenon but has since flip-flopped into scepticism.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Media Matters takes issue with Palin's tweet in which she said:

Copenhgen=arrogance of man2think we can change nature's ways.MUST b good stewards of God's earth,but arrogant&naive2say man overpwers nature

Now, before we get into the outright debunking of Media Matters' lies, I'd like to draw your attention to the way Palin is quoted in the introductory paragraph:

On December 19, 2009, Sarah Palin tweeted that it was "arrogant&naive2say" humans contributed to global warming. That is truly striking considering that she believed that to be the case just last year.

Was the direct quoting of her text-speak really necessary? Anyone with a basic knowledge of Twitter knows that individual posts or "tweets" are limited to 140 characters, so it is often necessary to shorten one's thoughts into less-than-eloquent terms. It's rather obvious that Media Matters' intent is portray Palin as an illiterate here, instead of saying that she tweeted it was "arrogant" and "naive" to say that Man "can change nature's ways", or something to that effect.

In fact, the entire phrasing is dishonest. Media Matters puts words in Palin's mouth by claiming that her tweet was a condemnation of the belief that Man contributes to global warming at all, when a reasonable deduction could be made that "man overp[o]wer[ing] nature" refers to those who claim that global warming is entirely a man-made phenomenon and deny the role natural, cyclical climate patterns play in global temperatures. (Unrelated: I wonder if Track got a new hockey stick for Christmas?)

Media Matters backs up their assertion that Palin used to believe that global warming is at least partially man-made by pointing to two quotes of hers from interviews she gave during the 2008 Vice-Presidential campaign:

I believe that man's activities certainly can be contributing to the issue of global warming, climate change. Here in Alaska, the only Arctic state in our union, of course, we see the effects of climate change more so than any other area with ice pack melting. Regardless though of the reason for climate change, whether it's entirely, wholly caused by man's activities or is part of the cyclical nature of our planet, the warming and the cooling trends, regardless of that, John McCain and I agree that we've got to do something about it and we have to make sure that we're doing all we can to cut down on pollution.

And:

You know there are - there are man's activities that can be contributed to the issues that we're dealing with now, these impacts. I'm not going to solely blame all of man's activities on changes in climate. Because the world's weather patterns are cyclical. And over history we have seen change there. But kind of doesn't matter at this point, as we debate what caused it. The point is: it's real; we need to do something about it.

The second quote, which comes from Palin's Katie Couric interview speaks for itself. The Governor's response is measured and acknowledges a natural role in global warming. Man's activities "can be" attributed to global warming but should be viewed in their proper context.

Media Matters did a bit of selective editing with the first quote, however. Palin's earlier statement came from her interview with Charlie Gibson (to which Media Matters did not link, unlike the Couric quote, allowing the lack of context to stand), and she was pressed regarding her past statements on global warming:

GIBSON: But it's a critical point as to whether or not this is man-made. [Sen. McCain] says it is. You have said in the past it's not.

PALIN: The debate on that even, really has evolved into, OK, here's where we are now: scientists do show us that there are changes in climate. Things are getting warmer. Now what do we do about it. And John McCain and I are gonna be working on what we do about it.

GIBSON: Yes, but isn't it critical as to whether or not it's man-made, because what you do about it depends on whether its man-made.

PALIN: That is why I'm attributing some of man's activities to potentially causing some of the changes in the climate right now.

GIBSON: But I, color me a cynic, but I hear a little bit of change in your policy there. When you say, yes, now you're beginning to say it is man-made. It sounds to me like you're adapting your position to Sen. McCain's.

PALIN: I think you are a cynic because show me where I have ever said that there's absolute proof that nothing that man has ever conducted or engaged in has had any affect, or no affect, on climate change.

At the time, media on both the Left and Right noted that Palin had not become a proponent of the anthropogenic global warming theory.

Indeed, as CNSNews.com observed, Palin's views on the matter have been public knowledge since her successful Alaska gubernatorial run:

In contrast to her Democratic opponent in the 2006 governor’s race, Palin did not accept the idea that there was “scientific consensus” on the cause of global warming.

Palin is not certain a natural warming cycle is at work, her spokesman, Curtis Smith, told reporters at the time.

"She's not totally convinced one way or the other," Smith said. “She thinks the jury's still out."

"I will not pretend to have all the answers," Palin said during an appearance at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention, where delegates passed a resolution calling for a mandatory reduction in pollution affecting the atmosphere.

[...]

Palin has been quoted in a variety of news sources as saying “the jury is still out” on whether or not mankind is responsible for an unnatural warming of the planet. However, a Nexis search going back to her run for governor does not show she dismissed the idea out of hand.

The only quote in which Governor Palin denied man-made global warming comes from a Newsmax interview conducted shortly before she was selected as Sen. McCain's running mate:

What is your take on global warming and how is it affecting our country?

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.

The key thing to note in Palin's relatively curt answer is the way in which the question was phrased. Newsmax asked for Palin's "take on global warming" and did not press the Governor on whether she believed in the possibility of a man-made role in global warming.

As a matter of fact, Palin echoed her statement to Newsmax during an exchange with Vice-Presidential debate moderator Gwen Ifill:

IFILL: Governor, I'm happy to talk to you in this next section about energy issues. Let's talk about climate change. What is true and what is false about what we have heard, read, discussed, debated about the causes of climate change?

PALIN: Yes. Well, as the nation's only Arctic state and being the governor of that state, Alaska feels and sees impacts of climate change more so than any other state. And we know that it's real.

I'm not one to attribute every man -- activity of man to the changes in the climate. There is something to be said also for man's activities, but also for the cyclical temperature changes on our planet.

But there are real changes going on in our climate. And I don't want to argue about the causes. What I want to argue about is, how are we going to get there to positively affect the impacts?

We have got to clean up this planet. We have got to encourage other nations also to come along with us with the impacts of climate change, what we can do about that.

In contrast to the Newsmax interview, both Gibson and Couric specifically addressed the human factor, to which Palin carefully answered, "I believe that man's activities certainly can be contributing to the issue of global warming, climate change," and "[T]here are man's activities that can be contributed to the issues that we're dealing with now, these impacts." [Emphasis added]

What's more, Palin's actions as Governor of Alaska do not reflect the actions of an ardent opponent of addressing global warming. As Palin said in her Facebook note, "Greener Than Thou?":

Why is Governor Schwarzenegger pushing for the same sorts of policies in Copenhagen that have helped drive his state into record deficits and unemployment? Perhaps he will recall that I live in our nation’s only Arctic state and that I was among the first governors to create a sub-cabinet to deal specifically with climate change. While I and all Alaskans witness the impacts of changes in weather patterns firsthand, I have repeatedly said that we can’t primarily blame man’s activities for those changes. And while I did look for practical responses to those changes, what I didn’t do was hamstring Alaska’s job creators with burdensome regulations so that I could act “greener than thou” when talking to reporters.

- Sarah Palin

Of course, any sort of nuanced or middle-ground position is roundly mocked as backwards, anti-science and otherwise wrong/evil/Hitlerian by the global warming alarmists. Palin noted this rigid, almost religious, adherence to the man-made global warming theory in two posts during the height of the Climategate scandal:

Policy should be based on sound science, not snake oil. I took a stand against such snake oil science when I sued the federal government over its decision to list the polar bear as an endangered species despite the fact that the polar bear population has increased. I’ve never denied the reality of climate change; in fact, I was the first governor to create a subcabinet position to deal specifically with the issue. I saw the impact of changing weather patterns firsthand while serving as governor of our only Arctic state. But while we recognize the effects of changing water levels, erosion patterns, and glacial ice melt, we cannot primarily blame man’s activities for the earth’s cyclical weather changes. The drastic economic measures being pushed by dogmatic environmentalists won’t change the weather, but will dramatically change our economy for the worse.

Policy decisions require real science and real solutions, not junk science and doomsday scare tactics pushed by an environmental priesthood that capitalizes on the public’s worry and makes them feel that owning an SUV is a “sin” against the planet. In his inaugural address, President Obama declared his intention to “restore science to its rightful place.” Boycotting Copenhagen while this scandal is thoroughly investigated would send a strong message that the United States government will not be a party to fraudulent scientific practices. Saying no to Copenhagen and cap and tax are first steps in “restoring science to its rightful place.”

The response to my op-ed by global warming alarmists has been interesting. Former Vice President Al Gore has called me a “denier” and informs us that climate change is “a principle in physics. It’s like gravity. It exists.”

Perhaps he’s right. Climate change is like gravity – a naturally occurring phenomenon that existed long before, and will exist long after, any governmental attempts to affect it.

However, he’s wrong in calling me a “denier.” As I noted in my op-ed above and in my original Facebook post on Climategate, I have never denied the existence of climate change. I just don’t think we can primarily blame man’s activities for the earth’s cyclical weather changes.

Former Vice President Gore also claimed today that the scientific community has worked on this issue for 20 years, and therefore it is settled science. Well, the Climategate scandal involves the leading experts in this field, and if Climategate is proof of the larger method used over the past 20 years, then Vice President Gore seriously needs to consider that their findings are flawed, falsified, or inconclusive.

Vice President Gore, the Climategate scandal exists. You might even say that it’s sort of like gravity: you simply can’t deny it.

- Sarah Palin

Media Matters is no stranger to the anti-sceptic lynch mob; they recently blasted Whole Foods CEO John Mackey as a "climate denier". I wasn't aware one could deny climate. By Media Matters' definition, the co-founder of The Weather Channel is a "climate denier"!

I will cut Media Matters some slack for this one, however. After all, even the Pulitzer prize-winning Politifact falsely alleged that Palin had flip-flopped on global warming (in this case, from sceptic to man-made global warming theory proponent), so it is understandable that openly ideological hacks like our progressive friends at Media Matters would get their facts confused.

Actually, while we're on the subject, we should note that Politifact said that Palin's reference to "death panels" last August was their "Lie of the Year", which she "shamelessly" stuck with.

We have already debunked the assertion that Palin's metaphor was a lie, but Media Matters contributor Chris Harris doubled down:

This is what truly sets Sarah Palin apart from normal politicians. If most political figures were caught telling the year's most ridiculously misleading lie, they would be embarrassed. Most humans would feel regret for willfully attempting to deceive an entire nation. Many would even apologize.

But not Sarah Palin. In fact, she wears her dishonesty on her sleeve, as a badge of honor. After getting caught telling a lie, she tells it again - just to prove how rogue-y she is. They simply can't deny it.

Here's hoping that one of these days she'll snap out of it.

Please. If anyone needs to "snap out of it", it's Media Matters. In addition to distorting Governor Palin's death panels comments and her stance on global warming, they have misrepresented her positions on both the "Bridge to Nowhere" and other Alaskan earmarks during her Governorship as well as Wasilla's earmarks during her tenure as Mayor.

But back to the subject at hand. It is painfully clear that Media Matters is again wrong in their analysis of Sarah Palin. In fact, one could say that the Governor's position on climate change is like gravity – a naturally occurring phenomenon that existed long before, and will exist long after, any of Media Matters' attempts to distort it. They simply can't deny it.