Inside the Beltway: Brace for the climate change mega-storm

NEWS AND OPINION:

One thing is for sure about Al Gore: It never rains on his global warming parade. The former vice president is not about to let go of his climate change zeal, and he takes to the Internet at high noon Tuesday for a lengthy demonstration. Mr. Gore’s “24 Hours of Reality” online broadcast is the kickoff for a series of events with hurricane-force winds leading up to the massive United Nations-led climate change summit in New York City next week. So batten down the hatches, folks, for alarmism is on it way.

“This year’s 24 hours of reality will signal a transition in the global conversation on climate change, where we highlight the solutions at hand and empower individuals to take simple actions to aid this global fight,” Mr. Gore says. This is the fourth year he’s hosted such an event, drawing from a seeming cast of thousands concerned about “climate disruption.” This is a new word in the activist lexicon. The follow-up sounds familiar though.

“We know we can solve climate disruption by turning from dirty fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy. So what’s stopping us? Big polluters — like politically connected oil and coal companies — dumping carbon pollution into the atmosphere, accelerating climate change and making billions while the rest of us pay to clean up their mess,” the program organizers advise participants, who are expected to ramp up awareness through social media and stage watch parties for Mr. Gore’s broadcast, found here: 24hoursofreality.org.

But, like a compass, it all points to the U.N.’s climate summit on September 23, where Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is the host and Mr. Gore the keynote speaker for an audience that includes 125 heads of state and hundreds of lesser officials from 162 countries. But wait, there’s more. It is also “Climate Week” in the Big Apple, promoted by The Climate Group, a nonprofit that has planned 100 public events with some hefty support from the likes of BMW, Bloomberg, Lockheed Martin and HP, among many others. The two-mile-long “People’s Climate March” is also planned for the city streets, billed as the “largest in history,” and trailing endorsements from multiple activist groups, ranging from MoveOn.Org to the Sierra Club — with much street theater, puppetry and music involved, apparently.

“The march will end with a block party. At the center will be a massive tree installation created by Brooklyn-based artist Swoon,” the organizers advise. Like we said, batten down the hatches.

THAT BIG PESKY ICE SHEET

“The Antarctic ice sheet has reached record levels in the midst of so-called climate change and global warming. It’s the same thing at the North Pole. Arctic ice sheet levels are at record levels. The North Pole is supposed to have been melted by now, according to Al Gore,” talk radio host Rush Limbaugh noted Monday.

Indeed, newly released data from the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center and Australia’s Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre finds that the ice sheet has expanded. Deemed a “three-year, record-breaking run”, the ice is now about 12 million square miles — roughly 2 times the size of Australia.

WHAT THE LIBERTARIANS WANT

“If elected, I will sponsor legislation to eliminate the federal income tax, cut federal spending to the 1998 level ($1.65 trillion) and get the IRS off the backs of taxpayers.”

And so say the 40 official Libertarian Party candidates running for office around the nation in a public pledge. The group reasons that the strategy will immediately balance the federal budget without raising taxes and give back, on average, $11,525 to each American family — every year — that they can invest, save, spend or give away as they see fit.

“Libertarian candidates far outshine their old-party rivals, who want to keep government big and grow it bigger,” says Nicholas Sarwark, chairman of the Libertarian National Committee. “They’re rattling the cages of big government and offering voters bold policy changes that will create jobs, foster peace and improve the standard of living of all Americans.”

The candidates also want to “abolish the NSA” and cut military spending by 60 percent — perhaps too much for wary voters to consider as the threat of the Islamic State looms, and polls reveal a much more hawkish public.

NEVER ENOUGH CHRISTIE

It’s like the cowbell: There can never be enough brassy New Jersey accent in Republican politics, it seems. Such is the case with Gov. Chris Christie, who will campaign in four states in the next 24 hours. He’ll spend Tuesday morning campaigning in North Carolina for U.S. Senate hopeful Thom Tillis, then race south to lend a hand to South Carolina Gov. Nikki R. Haley in Charleston.

Mr. Christie journeys to Maryland a few hours later for an event to help gubernatorial hopeful Larry Hogan — but New Hampshire calls. So it’s on to the Granite State on Wednesday, where the governor joins Senate hopeful Scott Brown for a grass-roots “victory rally” in the town of Salem, located just a few miles north of the Massachusetts line. This is Mr. Christie’s third visit to the state this year; a former Christie aide, in fact, now runs Mr. Brown’s campaign.

“Another endorsement for Brown is likely in the offing,” a source says, noting that Mr. Brown also earned the nod from Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul only last week. Mr. Christie, meanwhile, will next head to Maine and Ohio before the month is out.

THE FLIP SIDE

This will help pass the time until November 4 dawns and the midterm election gets underway. In the ever-important U.S. Senate, which states are given the greatest probability to flip to another party, and which states are closest to a true, cliffhanging toss-up? So asks Eric J. Ostermeier, a University of Minnesota political scientist who analyzed horse race numbers from multiple media outlets and pollsters to glean some insight.

“According to the slide rule crowd, the odds of a pickup in Iowa’s race between Democratic Congressman Bruce Braley and Republican State Senator Joni Ernst are closer to 50-50 than any other contest in the country, with the contest in Alaska close behind,” he says. “Ernst has a 46.3 percent chance of winning retiring Democrat Tom Harkin’s seat — or just 3.7 points shy of a 50/50 toss-up.”

Alaska is next in line. The professor gives Republican Dan Sullivan a 55.5 percent chance of unseating one-term Democrat Mark Begich, or 5.5 points north of a coin flip.

“Rounding out the Top 5 battleground races are Louisiana, with a 61.0 percent probability of a GOP pickup (11.0 points off a 50/50 race), Kansas at 37.3 percent for an independent pickup (12.7 points off) and Arkansas at 68.3 percent for a Republican pickup (18.3 points),” observes the meticulous Mr. Ostermeier.

POLL DU JOUR

• 64 percent of Americans report they enjoy talking about current events with their friends.

• 57 percent say their friends and neighbors regard them as a good source of advice for current events.

• 42 percent report they are moderates, 40 percent are conservatives, and 17 percent are liberals.

• 39 percent would vote for a Democrat if the midterms were today, 38 percent plan to vote for a Republican, and 24 percent are undecided.

• 35 percent report they are Democrats, 35 percent are Republicans, and 30 percent are independents.

• 23 percent have not donated to a political cause in the last two years.

• 19 percent have been active in a political or civic group in that time period.

Source: A Politico poll of 917 likely U.S. voters conducted Aug. 29-Sept. 7 and released Monday.

Chilly predictions, warmed-over ideas to jharper@washingtontimes.com.