Before I address that question, I just stumbled upon an article in the August 1, Washington Post. There, the Post updated its truth squad totals on Donald Trump: 4,229 false and misleading statements in 558 days.
I then reflected upon Anderson Cooper’s infamous April 17, 2018 CNN interview of Jim Jordan. In that interview, a fumbling Jordan firmly insisted, to Cooper’s amazement, that he never heard Trump lie. This is the same Jim Jordan who less than three months later saw no evil and heard no evil in the Ohio State sex scandal that victimized some of Jordan’s former wrestling students. I wondered to myself how Jordan’s credibility would hold up, when cross-examined in court on this issue, now that these incredible statements are in the public domain.
No wonder Trump loves Jordan! Every word Trump speaks is the “Truth” in Jordan’s world.
Sure Jordan’s a politician, and all politicians lie at some time or another (see Adams, The Education of Henry Adams). But it’s quite another thing when you live your entire Congressional career as one big lie—a lie that causes long-term harm, not only to the folks living in your district but the country as a whole.
Nowhere is that lie more obvious than in Jim Jordan’s approach to global warming and general environmental issues. And here’s why Jordan will live on in villainy. In July 2008, after being in Congress for a year and a half, Jim Jordan was the first member of Congress to sign the “No Climate Tax Pledge.” Yes, the first to sign; his initial salvo in an unrelenting fight he wages against our planet.
The pledge or vow is the product of Americans for Prosperity, the conservative political advocacy group, funded by David and Charles Koch. This is the outfit that went to war with the Obama Administration initiatives to combat global warming.
The promise itself is significant for a couple of reasons: 1) it opposes any legislation relating to climate change that includes a net increase in government revenue; 2) it drives the final nail in the coffin of environmental bipartisanship, which had been the norm for decades.
Let’s take a closer look at this. First, 71% of Americans now think that most scientists believe global warming is occurring; 68% of Americans believe global warming is caused by human activities. (March 14, 2017, Gallup poll). Record percentages of Americans are now concerned about global warming. I would predict the same percentages of belief would apply to Jordan’s Ohio 4th Congressional District, plus or minus a few points.
But Jordan wanted to be the first congressman in the USA to sell out the voters of a congressional district—never mind it had to be his own. He couldn’t wait to curry favor with the Koch boys and sign on the dotted line.
What he’s really saying is: “Regardless how bad it gets, how severe the droughts, how out of control the forest fires, how strong the tornadoes and hurricanes, how hot the summers, how cold the winters, how deep the floods, how devastating the blizzards, how much the ice caps melt, how high the oceans rise, I will not vote to tax, tariff, or otherwise increase revenues to cap the use of fossil fuels, unless that money is cut (or borrowed) from somewhere else in the budget.” And in Jordan’s case, that would be Social Security, Medicare, education, health care and the like: Programs that benefit folks in his district.
So from that July day in 2008, Jordan waged his own war on the environment: Voting to bar greenhouse gasses from Clean Air Act rules; voting against enforcing limits on carbon dioxide global warming pollution, against tax incentives for renewable electricity and energy conservation, against curtailing subsidies for oil and gas company exploration, but voting in favor of opening the Outer Continental Shelf to oil drilling.
The League of Conservation Voters, National Environmental Scorecard, awarded Jordan a perfect 0% score for his 2017 record, and a lifetime score of 4% for his work.
The saddest part of this story, however, is the depth we’ve descended into the abyss of partisanship on environmental issues. These were matters that we have historically agreed on, if for no other reason than the sake of our children and grandchildren’s future.
For example, in 1969, Congress passed the landmark National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This revolutionary piece of legislation unanimously passed the Senate; the vote in the House was 372 Years, with only 15 Nays. Nixon signed it into law on New Year's Day, 1970.
Now, thanks to guys like Jordan, NEPA would not even be brought to the floor for a vote, if it were introduced in today’s Congress.
In contrast, Janet Garrett, by philosophy an environmentalist, will push for and support an agenda that will guarantee clean water, clean air, and the reduction of greenhouse gasses. Garrett knows the value of Environmental Protection; on those who knowingly violate our statutes, Janet will push for criminal enforcement. Garrett will defend our National Park system and public lands, as she understands the need to preserve the earth for her children and grandchildren. To Janet, this is a moral issue.
Please support Janet Garrett in her efforts to replace Jordan in Congress.
Jim Sherck is a retired appellate judge residing in OH-4.
Learn more about Janet at: http://www.janetgarrett.com/