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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMother Jones: When Did Republicans Start Hating the Environment?
http://m.motherjones.com/environment/2014/08/republicans-environment-hate-polarizationSo what happened to the GOP, from the time of Nixon to the present, to turn an environmental leader into an environmental retrograde? According to a new study in the journal Social Science Research, the key change actually began around the year 1991when the Soviet Union fell. "The conservative movement replaced the 'Red Scare' with a new 'Green Scare' and became increasingly hostile to environmental protection at that time," argues sociologist Aaron McCright of Michigan State University and two colleagues.
So is that causal explanation right? Before getting to that question, let's examine the study itself. For starters, it is pretty much undebatable that Americans today are polarized over environmental issues. In a figure in their paper, McCright and his colleagues visualize this polarization by charting the average League of Conservation Voters environmental scores for congressional Democrats and Republicans from 1970 through 2013:
One of the items then listed is "the environment" or "improving and protecting the environment." Here's how many Americans responded to that question over time by saying that we're spending "too little" on environmental protection, separated by political party membership:
Turbineguy
(37,365 posts)they love to destroy it.
stillwaiting
(3,795 posts)They don't hate the environment, but they truly can't be bothered to care about it.
Also, those evil liberals care about it so I'm sure they get some sense of accomplishment in thwarting liberals.
They truly are such easy and ridiculous puppets for monied interests. So much so that they don't even care about the air their children breathe, the water their children drink, or the safety of the land and waters that surround them.
DiverDave
(4,887 posts)Pretty much forever.
underpants
(182,878 posts)Polluters and racists
catbyte
(34,447 posts)for the environment by appointing James Watt Secretary of the Interior. It was ratcheted up further by protobaggers like Sciafe & the Koch boys, who attempted to demonize anyone concerned about the environment as a "wussy, tree-hugging liberal." Then cretins like Gingrinch jumped on the bandwagon during the Clinton years. They really went off the deep end when Al Gore started talking about GW (they knew deep down that he was a better man than Shrub and should have been President), and they now are batshit crazy what with that Awful Negro sullying up their White House. It's just so sad and wrong. And don't get me started with those vile "coal rollers."
pnwmom
(108,994 posts)James Watt, thought this mission was to "use" as much of the environment as possible before the anticipated Second Coming.
Johonny
(20,888 posts)When they say they want a CEO president what they mean is "Fuck You."
Triana
(22,666 posts)Money is God in the US. People like to pretend otherwise but it's true. Particularly within the GOP/Tea Party.
Money trumps EVERYTHING.