Watching the planet melt down and be destroyed because of global warming is acceptable just as long as we don't raise utility rates, in the World According to Vice President Mike Pence.
The Trump administration is loaded with climate deniers and hucksters doing everything they can to undo all progress the US has made on global warming. They refuse to acknowledge the science community in general.
CNN's State of the Union host Jake Tapper grilled Pence on a host of subjects before finally asking about his views on climate change during Sunday's interview.
Almost immediately, the interview turned cringeworthy on this topic and Pence never recovered.
After Trump's Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats proclaimed climate change a global disaster the administration's EPA rolled back parts of Obama's clean power plan requirements.
"Do you believe think human-induced climate emergency is a threat to the United States?" Tapper asked.
Pence ducked. "Well, what -- what I will tell you is that we will always follow the science on that in this administration.
"The science says it is," Tapper shot back.
Pence's moronic response was the usual right-wing complaint that President Obama's regulations were "hamstringing energy in this country and raising the cost of utility rates for working families across this country. " He then complained about other countries' actions against climate change, but he never answered the direct question, so Tapper asked again.
"But is what people are calling a climate emergency, is it a threat?," Tapper pressed. "Do you think it is a threat, manmade climate emergency is a threat?"
Pence continued his charade, saying, "I think the answer to is going to be based upon the science."
"Well, the science says yes," Tapper insisted.
(Well...)
One more time, Tapper pressed. "I'm asking you what you think."
Once again, Pence started to lie about the science.
Tapper cut him off: "The science community in your own administration, at NOAA... at the DNI, they all say it is a threat."
Pence, cornered, tried to stutter an answer, but Tapper had the upper hand. "But you won't, for some reason."
"What we have said is that we're not going to raise utility rates," Pence said. "Remember what President Obama said?"
"But it is not a threat?" Tapper repeated.
This back and forth is repeated, with Pence saying utility rates matter more than the planet, basically.
Pence then uttered one lie too many and Tapper couldn't contain himself.
"I think we're making great progress reducing carbon emissions, America has the cleanest air and water in the world," Pence insisted.
"That is not true," Tapper corrected. "We don't have the cleanest air and water in the world. We don't."
And then he started laughing, because everyone knows that clean air and water are separate from issues surrounding global warming. Also, that claim isn't true. Just ask the kids in Flint.
