NEWS AND OPINION:
The world is now privy to the Vatican view on global warming, thanks to overeager journalists who reported details from an encyclical by Pope Francis on earthly environmental matters, before its official Thursday release. A tacky practice. The contents, though, are already drawing commentary.
“Pope Francis’s heart is in the right place, but he made a grave mistake by putting his trust and moral authority behind agenda-driven bureaucrats at the United Nations who have been bearing false witness about the causes and consequences of climate change for decades,” says Jim Lakely, director of communications for the Heartland Institute, a nonprofit which sent its climate experts to Rome in April to offer a more skeptical view of things.
“The data observed since the birth of the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in the 1990s does not support the hypothesis that the emission of carbon dioxide to power the modern world is causing a climate crisis. Simply put, someone at the Pontifical Academy of Science should have told Pope Francis that every calamity the U.N. bureaucrats predicted for decades has not come to pass,” Mr. Lakely continues. “Pope Francis’s goal of preserving God’s earthly kingdom for future generations is shared by every ’skeptic’ of man-caused global warming. But he will not preserve it by putting his moral authority behind a U.N. agenda that considers it a sin for the poor to use affordable, ever-cleaner fossil fuels to power their lives.”
THEY HAVE THE FAITH
Now officially underway: the three-day Road to Majority — a jumbo-sized, ambitious event centered upon religious voters, staged in a major hotel in the nation’s capital and organized by the Faith and Freedom Coalition. The political guest list is dizzying, the intention to impact the 2016 election is serious, indeed.
On Thursday alone, Sens. Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Ron Johnson plus Rep. Steve King and polling goddess Kellyanne Conway assemble for a sold-out legislative luncheon for activists and admirers — who later scuttle over to the U.S. Capitol for an afternoon of lobbying. A reception in the august building follows with Reps. Diana Black, Tom Price, Bill Flores and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus.
SEE ALSO: Jeb Bush, Rick Santorum say Pope should stay out of climate change debate
And that is just Thursday.
RUBIO’S REAL FINANCES
A watchdog group has a counternarrative to the New York Times recent “investigative” story on Sen. Marco Rubio’s personal finances, decadesold parking tickets, a family purchase of a fishing boat and other matters. The National Taxpayers Union Foundation was prompted to conduct a more thorough analysis of the presidential hopeful’s fiscal prowess, reviewing the Florida Republican’s entire legislative spending agenda during his Senate term.
Good news to voters who favor Mr. Rubio. The analysis revealed that lawmaker sponsored legislation that would, on average, increase federal spending by $11.1 billion per year — and also reduce it by $341.4 billion per year. His record is pretty good. Mr. Rubio’s net average agenda amounts to $330 billion in spending cuts per year.
“We may not be dealing with noteworthy costs like parking tickets or fishing boats, but the Senator’s agenda would have cut spending by $330 billion annually at a time when our national debt rose beyond $16 trillion,” says research director Demian Brady. “To help put that in perspective, that’s equal to 4.1 million $80,000 speedboats.”
FROM THE UH-OH DESK
SEE ALSO: House Republicans craft Obamacare subsidies alternative ahead of Supreme Court ruling
One terse quote from the Republican National Committee tells all about the current status of a certain Democratic presidential hopeful in the aftermath of a visit to the Palmetto State.
“Hillary Clinton’s economic proposals have been light on details and heavy on hypocrisy — another example of why voters overwhelmingly believe she is not honest and trustworthy. By losing the South Carolina AFL-CIO’s endorsement to Bernie Sanders, it’s clear even Democrats aren’t buying what Hillary Clinton is selling,” notes committee spokesman Michael Short.
Even MSNBC is now referring to a new phenomenon they title, “Bernie-mentum.” Meanwhile, another Democratic rival — Martin O’Malley — has opened official offices in New Hampshire, where state director John Bivona reports that the candidates “message of new leadership” is a hit with voters.
SURPRISE: VOTERS CAN’T WAIT FORT 2016
Passive, they’re not. Americans appear engaged and ready to do their civic duty according to a new Monmouth University Poll which reveals that a big majority of the voting public are anticipating the presidential season in a big way.
“Sixty nine percent of American voters say they feel optimistic about the 2016 election and just 25 percent are pessimistic. Fully, 81 percent of Republicans, 70 percent of Democrats, and 60 percent of independents feel optimistic about electing a new president,” the poll says.
A few are in a funk, though. The poll also finds that 31 percent of independents, 22 percent of Democrats and 17 percent of Republicans report they are pessimistic about the election.
Overall, 57 percent say they feel about the same amount of enthusiasm for the upcoming race as they did in past elections while 21 percent are more enthusiastic, 22 percent less so. Republicans have the edge here, the poll finds: 27 percent are more enthusiastic rather than less (15 percent), while Democrats display almost the exact opposite sentiment. Twenty seven percent are less enthusiastic, 17 percent more enthusiastic.
The poll of 1,002 U.S. adults was conducted June 10-14.
FOXIFIED
“I joke that the bimbo trifecta is being Miss America, being blonde and working for Fox News. If you Google me, you’ll find plenty of dumb blonde references — even though I graduated with honors from Stanford and studied at Oxford University. I don’t let it bother me. I’ve learned that sometimes when people don’t like what you have to say, and don’t want to debate you on ideas, it’s just easier to call you a dumb blonde from Fox News,” notes Gretchen Carlson, a Fox News host and author of “Getting Real,” a new memoir published by Penguin on Wednesday.
“The future is wide open. I may actually go back and get that law degree someday. Maybe I’ll be in the pulpit. Who knows? I might even pursue a career in politics. If I do, I will have had great practice dealing with the avalanche of daily criticism from working at Fox News and being a former Miss America. I’m ready for anything,” the author adds.
POLL DU JOUR
• 68 percent of Americans believe the Earth is warming; 45 percent of Republicans and 86 percent of Democrats agree.
• 71 percent of Catholics also agree, along with 51 percent of Catholic Republicans and 85 percent of Catholic Democrats.
• 46 percent of Americans overall say global warming is a “very serious problem”; 21 percent of Republicans and 67 percent of Democrats agree.
• 48 percent of Catholics also agree, along with 24 percent of Catholic Republicans and 64 percent of Catholic Democrats.
• 45 percent of Americans overall say global warming is caused by “human activity”; 22 percent of Republicans and 64 percent of Democrats agree.
• 47 percent of Catholics also agree, along with 24 percent of Catholic Republicans and 62 percent of Catholic Democrats.
Source: A Pew Research Center poll of 5,122 U.S. adults, including 1,016 self-identified Catholics; conducted May 5- June 7.
• Pesky thoughts, cranky commentary to jharper@washingtontimes.com.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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