Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz has stated that he doesn’t believe in the science behind global warming. In a forum hosted by Freedom Partners on Sunday evening, a key cog in the political network of the Koch Brothers, the Texas senator stated that “the data and facts don’t support” that global warming is occurring.
The moderator of the forum described Cruz’s stance as “full out denial”. The Texas senator did not disagree with that characterisation. Cruz has previously compared those who believe in global warming to “flat-Earthers.”
Cruz also criticised the new regulations, set to be unveiled by the Obama administration on Monday, to cut carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. To the Republican presidential candidate, these new rules were a sign that the Democratic party had abandoned union members for “California environmentalist billionaires and their campaign donations”, in a clear reference to hedge fund mogul and environmentalist Tom Steyer.
In denying global warming, which Cruz saw as a Trojan horse used by liberals to impose “massive government control” on the economy, the Texas Republican distinguishes himself from many others in the GOP field. Earlier, 2016 rival Marco Rubio also attacked the new regulations, although the Florida senator was loth to address the science behind global warming. In contrast, other Republicans, like former Florida governor Jeb Bush, have acknowledged that the planet is getting warmer.
However, Bush did have some fierce words for the Obama administration’s plans on Sunday. “I think it’s a disaster. It’s typical of the Obama administration, taking the power he doesn’t have,” he told the audience at the Freedom Partners forum. He added that he thought the regulations were both “unconstitutional” and “a job killer”.
Research by the federal government shows that the rate of global warming has been steady and unchanging in recent years and that 2014 was the warmest year on record.
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