Letters to the Editor
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For those of you are clueless to exactly who Newt Gingrich is
and think that he should be taken seriously with regard to bi "ha" partisanship.
> This is the list of negative words and phrases that GOP candidates were told to use when speaking about their opponents.
"Compassion" is not enough.
Anti-(issue) flag, family, child, jobs
Betray
Coercion
Collapse
Consequences
Corruption
Crisis
Decay
Deeper
Destroy
Destructive
Devour
Endanger
Failure
Greed
Hypocrisy
Ideological
Impose
Incompetent
Insecure
Liberal
Lie
Limit(s)
Pathetic
Permissive attitude
Radical
Self-serving
Sensationalists
Shallow
Sick
They/them
Threaten
Traitors
Unionized bureaucracy
Urgent
Waste
Anyone who thinks that Newt Gingrich isn't one the people who is responsible directly for the polarization of this country....
and can be as trusted as much as the other sociopaths who brought us our current political disaster (that is you assholes who voted for Bush and think you can be trusted to make a cogent decision again.)
Sure, listen to Newt.
And yeah, Joan Walsh, how you could allow this man to a place on Salon is beyond me.
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how did they get there?
Gingrich brings up California as an example. How did California get cleaner air now than it had 30 years ago? Was it the free market and technology prizes? Of course not, it was regulation. If you look at the United States' carbon emissions over the last 30 years, California has some of the lowest growth in carbon emissions, despite increases in population and economic growth. Again, it wasn't because of the "free market", it is because California has some of the toughest regulations in the US. If conservatives want to talk about free market solutions, perhaps they should get rid of gas, oil, and corn subsidies and tax breaks and see what happens in a real free market environment.
I agree that the US needs to put more money into technology to combat carbon emissions, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't also enact regulations such as carbon caps, increased gas mileage, and greener building codes. It's going to take more than one path forward to get us out of this mess.
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Doesn't have to be Partisan
I hate how caring for the environment has become such a partisan issue for so many people. The fact is there are plenty of people on both side of the political divide who are environmentally conscience. For instance Kiplinger's (a personal finance magazine) recently had a "Green" issue which apparently generated tons of outraged letters from what I imagine is conservative readership for taken a political stance. For this I blame the political right of castigating good environmental stewardship into the realm of the political left. The left is equally to blame for not just allowing to this happen but happily taken ownership of the issue. Environmental stewardship along with Law and Order (which the right has taken ownership) are not political. There is no issue to disagree on. In the end we all want a healthy planet, clean air and water, along with safety. We may disagree with how to best to implement, but there should be no disagreement on what the best outcomes are.
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Newt's right
If we treated the creation of low to non-petroleum/carbon producing engines with the same fervor we did with the space race, America would become the dominat force for decades to come.
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Newt: A small, lizard-like creature
There are a few grains of "good idea" nestled in there amidst his self-promotion. Too few to compel me to look to him instead of elsewhere for the same notions.
We will only succeed in modifying our current run of environmental damage when doing so becomes a matter of national policy, with emphasis on: in-town public transportation, high-speed intercity rail, cellulosic ethanol (preferably enzymatic, if it can be commercially viable), wind, geothermal, solar, hydro, and some very carefully overseen nuclear power, coupled with the complete redirection of our present combustion-based energy infrastructure towards the development and deployment of the above alternatives.
Hydrogen is likely a Utopian dream. Reforestation is vitally important both for sequestration and other practical reasons. And we desperately need to preserve clean water sources.
Oh, and slowing down worldwide population growth might not be so bad an idea either...
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gingrich: fool, liar, or both
this nut says we cannot know if the environment would have been in better shape if Gore had won in 2000!
the answer is obvious. with gore we would have avoided all the anti-environmental bias of the bush administration. think water, national parks, trees, air, car mileage, etc.
the Q is a no-brainer. yet hypocrite newt can't see his way thru his partisan stance.
he is not only a sexual/moral hypocrite - having an affair while leading the attack on bill clinton's pecadillos, etc.
but also a hopeless ignoramus.
it is obvious that had gore served as president instead of that usurping fratboy, the usa would have had cleaner water, air, etc.
wake up, newt.
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@tiberius
"If we treated the creation of low to non-petroleum/carbon producing engines with the same fervor we did with the space race, America would become the dominat force for decades to come."
Fervor? Compare NASA's budget to what we spend in Iraq.
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Yeah right
In case he hasn't noticed, our "good ol' American know-how," our will to achieve is being sucked out of us as the super rich become richer and more arrogant, and our elected representatives grow more distant from and unconcerned about the welfare of the citizenry they are constituted to serve.
Believe that a conservative would, even accidentally, make a choice that would benefit the majority? Fooled us once, Newt; your 15 minutes are over.
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The Conservative Clown Needs a New Act
The crown clown of conservatism, Newt Gee, needs a new act. This contract stuff worked in the 90's when we knew nothing about him and his doctrinaire approach to problem solving. We've all seen the clown's act; it's this: I can solve any problem with my ideological formula: privatize it, make it profitable for my buddies to make millions at the public expense, blame the Democrats and government, and, salute the flag grandpa, know that Republicans are good, honest, and true Americans who have God on their side. So this formula of Newt Gee's has produced the following:
-a war in Iraq;
-a deficit that went from $6 trillion to $9 trillion under the Republicans;
-increased global warming threats;
-tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires;
-jobs shipped to China and Mexico;
-a housing crisis that threatens our economic growth;
-torture (waterboarding) used on 'enemies;'
-and a country generally that is tired of the shop worn phrases of these Republican idiots.
So junk the contract schtick, Newtie, and get with reality. It will shock your little, crunched Republican world view.