Narrowcasting

Watching the Republican Senate debate, it would not have been surprising if all four candidates had sworn that the earth is flat. Because they went right over the edge.
 
You saw four candidates who would pay any price, bear any burden, destroy any branch of government, defend any outlandish right to have a gun and deny any reality in order to pander to a narrow and apparently narrow-minded primary base.
 
The high (or low) point came when the candidates were asked if climate change is real. They greeted the question not only with emphatic “no’s,” but with laughter.
 
Think about that for a minute. No hint that the overwhelming consensus among scientists is that climate change is a real and present danger.
 
Forget scientists. How about the Pentagon? Its 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review says: “The pressures caused by climate change will influence resource competition while placing additional burdens on economies, societies, and governance institutions around the world. These effects are threat multipliers that will aggravate stressors abroad such as poverty, environmental degradation, political instability, and social tensions – conditions that can enable terrorist activity and other forms of violence.”
 
Well, who believes those soft-headed, do-good ninnies at the Pentagon?
 
Now, take Thom Tillis (please). He seems to be a smart man. He was a successful business consultant. You don’t do well there by pooh-poohing facts.
 
Tillis surely knows better. But he’s afraid to say so. He would rather pander to a voting base that is trapped in the iron grip of ignorance.
 
Which tells you all you need to know about where the Republican Party is today – and where they would take North Carolina and the nation.
 
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Gary Pearce

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Narrowcasting

Watching the Republican Senate debate, it would not have been surprising if all four candidates had sworn that the earth is flat. Because they went right over the edge.
 
You saw four candidates who would pay any price, bear any burden, destroy any branch of government, defend any outlandish right to have a gun and deny any reality in order to pander to a narrow and apparently narrow-minded primary base.
 
The high (or low) point came when the candidates were asked if climate change is real. They greeted the question not only with emphatic “no’s,” but with laughter.
 
Think about that for a minute. No hint that the overwhelming consensus among scientists is that climate change is a real and present danger.
 
Forget scientists. How about the Pentagon? Its 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review says: “The pressures caused by climate change will influence resource competition while placing additional burdens on economies, societies, and governance institutions around the world. These effects are threat multipliers that will aggravate stressors abroad such as poverty, environmental degradation, political instability, and social tensions – conditions that can enable terrorist activity and other forms of violence.”
 
Well, who believes those soft-headed, do-good ninnies at the Pentagon?
 
Now, take Thom Tillis (please). He seems to be a smart man. He was a successful business consultant. You don’t do well there by pooh-poohing facts.
 
Tillis surely knows better. But he’s afraid to say so. He would rather pander to a voting base that is trapped in the iron grip of ignorance.
 
Which tells you all you need to know about where the Republican Party is today – and where they would take North Carolina and the nation.
 
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Gary Pearce

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