You were lied to as a child if you were ever told there is no such thing as a stupid question.
James “Ooker” Eskridge is Tangier Island’s mayor, a tiny island of about 400 people in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay.
It's also disappearing.
Tangier is sinking into the ocean, and the Army Corps of Engineers is estimating that it is losing 16 feet of beach per year due to erosion and sea level rise. Scientists have predicted that in as little as 25 years, the entire island could be under water.
So the question from Mayor “Ooker” to Al Gore was more than a bit surprising, if not outright absurd.
What I found most silly was how Trump supporters reacted afterwards. They are so incredibly stupid that they actually think that the mayor got the upper-hand with his exchange with Al Gore, when in fact, Gore was clearly exasperated with the obvious stupidity.
I am using a teabagger’s own YouTube video to show this to you, and to prove that I am not taking anything out of context. It’s a short but telling exchange. Please ... enjoy:
The whole thing lasted a little over two minutes. If you can't play youtube, Brut gave it a really good professional treatment. Otherwise, I'll post a relevant short transcript from the beginning. However, you really need to hear it to appreciate this special brand of Trump idiocy:
Mayor Ooker: ...I have a crabhouse business out on the water, and water level is the same as it was when the place was built in 1970. I'm not a scientist but I'm a KEEN OBSERVER.. and uh, if sea level rise is occurring, why am I not seeing signs of it?
I mean... our island IS disappearing, but it's because erosion and not sea level rising, and unless we get a sea wall, we will lose our island BUT back to the question, why am I not seeing signs of the sea level rise?
Al Gore: What do think the erosion is due to, Mayor?
Ooker: Uhhh.... wave action? storms?
Gore: Has that increased any?
Ooker: Uhh..Not really... I mean...
Gore: So you're losing the island even though the waves haven’t increased?
Ooker said he’d shout "from the housetop” if he had any proof of sea level rising. The fact that his island is sinking into the Chesapeake Bay isn’t good enough for this “keen observer."
Again, this exchange is all the proof you need of the cognitive disconnect of the Trump-supporting GOP not believing something that is happening right in front of their own eyes.
The mayor’s claim that water level has been the exact same since 1970 is, like everything else he said, total BS. Scientists, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation have said coastal Virginia has seen the “highest rate of relative sea level rise on the whole Atlantic coast, more than 14 inches since 1930.” The fact that the mayor thought beach erosion had no correlation to sea level rise meant that meaningful debate would have been a futile attempt anyway.
Al Gore ended by saying one of the challenges he has is taking what the overwhelming scientific consensus is and translating it to terms that are believable to people so they can see the consequences “in their own lives.”
I would not have been as patient with such a dumbass.
That island has existed for hundreds, likely thousands, of years. It is disappearing at such a rapid rate that it will be gone in about two decades. That is a problem, whether you choose to believe in it or not. Science doesn’t care whether you believe in facts, or what moronic leaders you choose to elect.
What makes this story even more rich is that Donald Trump, who swore that he never watches CNN, called the mayor right after CNN ran a special on the disappearing island. The mayor, unsurprisingly, is a huge Trump fan and even said this on CNN:
Ooker: “I love Trump as much as any family member I got.”
The Donald actually assured Ooker that everything was fine and not to worry. Seriously.
Donald Trump: Your island has been there for hundreds of years and that I believe it will be there for hundreds more.
That is what Mayor Ooker said the Donald told him during their 10-minute phone call.
I’m guessing that this was followed with a discussion on how he really won the popular vote. Trump and friends like to make their own reality.
Both men came to the agreement that sea level rise should not be a concern at all. Ooker said the president, like him, is “not a sea level rise guy.”
I’m sure that’s a relief to the residents of the island. After all, the first step in dealing with a problem is denying it.
At least if you are a Trump supporter.