Senate Majority (Leader?) Mitch McConnell
what eye thynk: I had hoped that Mitch might learn something from that; but, alas, no. Mr. McConnell is following in the internationally condemned footsteps of his mentor, first-term Senator Cotton, and going global to warn other governments away from entering into any agreement on climate change with the U.S.
On Tuesday the Obama administration submitted its official emissions reduction targets to the United Nations as part of its agreement with the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. The U.S. joins Switzerland, Norway, and the entire 28-member European Union in submitting a 15-year blueprint for carbon emission reductions. In a surprise move, Russia also submitted a plan to the U.N. on Tuesday. Final talks on the agreement are scheduled to be held in Paris later this year.
The United States importance in this agreement cannot be overstated. ThinkProgress' Rebecca Leber wrote, "A successful Paris deal rests in part on how well the White House can assure the rest of the world that the Obama administration can overcome political (conservative) intransigence." Following the refusal of the Bush administration to sign the 2005 Kyoto Protocol on global warming, the world's skepticism is understandable.
Mitch McConnell has made it his goal in recent weeks to feed that skepticism by undermining the President's efforts. Last month, Mr. McConnell wrote an op-ed piece for The Lexington-Herald Leader urging our 50 governors to "reject (the) Obama mandate for clean-power regulations." More on that here.
On Tuesday, apparently not satisfied with fomenting anarchy only on the national level, Mr. McConnell followed the proud example of Tom Cotton and issued a statement warning the international community to "proceed with caution."
"Even if the job-killing and likely illegal Clean Power Plan were fully implemented, the United States could not meet the targets laid out in this proposed new plan. Our international partners should proceed with caution before entering into a binding, unattainable deal."
Americans may have become jaded to the GOP's obstructionism during the Obama years and the world may have watched with bemusement while our democratic system atrophied; but no one can afford to ignore the recent tactics employed by Republican leadership--moves that are unlike anything ever experienced in the world of international politics.
As MSNBC's Steve Benen put it, "American foreign policy isn't supposed to work this way; it's never worked this way; and it can't work this way."
Global relationships are ruled by a set of delicate protocols best left to the grown-ups. Children like Senators Tom Cotton and Mitch McConnell are doing nothing but embarrassing themselves while making us look ridiculous in front of our allies and vulnerable to our enemies. So gleeful are these Republicans in their ability to record another hit on the target we have allowed our President to be, that they are entirely nescient to the damage they are doing to our position as a world leader.
Today, I asked if Mitch McConnell is a slow learner. Looking at recent evidence, I have to answer, "Yes."
They(Senators Doofus & Dumbass) are doing more than embarrassing themselves; they are keeping our global counterparts wary.
ReplyDeleteI asked my doctor, who hails from Austria, if Europe was laughing at American politics. He said "sometimes".
Sad, huh?