Perennial reactionary, John McClaughry has his tail in a knot over the possibility that the Legislature might consider a statewide carbon tax.
He so routinely comes out on the other side of reason that I hardly noticed this late December rant until I came across it again yesterday. What leapt out to grab my attention was the number of words and phrases Mr. McClaughry chose to frame in quotes.
As no links or references were provided, one must assume that these do not represent actual quotations, but rather ideas held by others that he deems pretty fanciful:
Why…we must defeat “climate pollution-the biggest environmental challenge of our generation.”
They profess to believe-and some may actually believe – that human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide are giving us “super storms and extreme weather events.”
His tortured phrasing suggests that Mr. McClaughry may have never even bothered to crack a book on climate science.
He appears to have been equally insulated from practical knowledge of low-income Vermonters, at one point referring to them as “the poor” (his quotation marks), as if he doubts their very existence.
On the other hand, McClaughry is crisply clear on who the enemy is: VPIRG and the evil folks who would lead Vermont down the path to renewable energy.
Ten percent of the revenues will be skimmed off to pay for “investments in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and other clean alternatives to fossil fuels.”
There he goes again with those phantom quotation marks..
Apparently he has no problem with public investment in fossil fuels and nuclear for energy production, for which there is much precedent, but draws the line at clean renewables.
The rest is just the usual whinging about how doing anything to encourage a reduction in fossil fuel use is bad for business and will make everyone go to New Hampshire to pump gas.
McClaughry ends with a sort of left-handed valentine to Peter Shumlin who has turned out to be more of an ally to his privileged cohort than ours.
If I were the Governor, that prospect would give me something of a chill.
read his stuff as he is so provocoteur. The likes of Ann Coulter, Rush et al are only fit for the fringe. Though he’s not quite that bad, some things he says are intelligent but the rest is just too shock-jock for me.
I can read other opinions but I avoid those who routinely piss me off. I have enough headaches.
You have to think of how many listen to this Koch-brothers employee. Judging by the last election, a lot of Vermonters do listen to him.
JM has a long distinguished history of swimming in the shallow end of his think tank. Prepare yourself for a personal letter from him. Among my treasured possessions are two snarky letters I got from him after some criticism. He’s the very epitome of the thin skinned pissed off much put upon white man.
I remember his failed governors race with great fondness. I believe he had about 28% of the vote but did that shut him up?! Thank goddess it didn’t and we can still have the error of our ways pointed out by such a towering intellect.
I get why the news and opinion outlets continue to publish his drivel – “controversy sells”- what eludes me is why people continue to dignify it by responding. He probably won’t go away if we ignore him, but we’ll stop wasting precious time that we’ll never get back, at least….