West Virginia Representative David McKinley is a Republican, and drinks the Party Line Kool Aide. In this case, it’s an extremely foolish and short-sighted amendment to a budget bill for the Department of Defense.
The DoD has already begun planning for climate change, but that could end. The McKinley amendment restricts the DoD from addressing climate change or respond to the IPCC assessment data. This isn’t surprising for a Republican, but it is a surprise coming from one of the few members of congress with a technical education (engineering).
It’s a long, slow path to destruction. I guarantee, the Russians are planning for an ice-free Arctic Ocean. Tying the DoD’s hands behind its back makes little practical sense. Unless you are a member of the GOP.
The GOP will do or say anything necessary to obstruct regulation. Why is a discussion for another day, but in short, it comes down to holding back socialism. The GOP blindly follows the neoliberal doctrine despite the reams of evidence that deregulation leads to criminal capitalism, like that recent real estate meltdown. The globe must bake because, ya know, socialism.
This is criminally detrimental to long-term national security.
