Sounds like fighting words:
Republican members of Congress and Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) are “denying reality” by refusing to acknowledge the role that climate change has played in the two recent hurricanes that have rocked U.S. coastal communities in the past month, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) told Politico Tuesday.
“It’s denying reality,” Nelson said. “You can call it politics or whatever, but the Earth is getting hotter. This storm is another reminder of what we’re going to have to deal with in the future.”
As a former astronaut, Nelson said climate change and the greenhouse effect have warmed the waters and caused sea levels around Florida to rise in recent decades, which helped fuel the size of Hurricane Irma, he said, saying the issue is not political.
“It’s certainly going to be an important issue, and if certain people such as the one you mentioned is my opponent, there’s a significant contrast in what we believe,” Nelson told Politico, referencing Scott, who will likely be Nelson’s opponent in the 2018 Senate race and has questioned climate science in the past.
And Nelson is sticking to making climate change the big issue in next year’s race:
Florida is a swing state in presidential elections, but its state government and statewide offices tilt heavily Republican; Nelson has been an exception to the red wave, but a well-known, well-funded opponent like Scott would be by far his most difficult challenge to date. He clearly sees climate as a potential wedge issue in a state with a heavily coastal population and increasing vulnerability to Irma-type disasters. Scott did not discuss the issue in his frequent Irma briefings; a spokesperson for the governor, when asked about Nelson’s comments, said, “Now is not the time for politics. This storm is not a partisan issue. Now is the time to focus on helping Florida rebuild.”
But in the past, he has questioned climate science—or declined to affirm the scientific consensus that it’s being cause by humans, often noting, “I am not a scientist”—and fossil-fuel interests have supported his campaigns. In 2015, the Miami Herald reported that Scott’s administration had even banned the use of the terms “climate change,” “global warming” and “sustainability” in official documents.
Nelson is not known in Washington as a leader on climate issues, but he said he’s focused on them since he was Florida’s insurance commissioner in the 1990s. He’s fought against President Trump’s proposed cuts to climate science at agencies like NOAA, NASA and EPA, and said he helped persuade the Obama administration to launch a satellite, first dreamed up by Al Gore, that takes continuous pictures of the Earth from deep space.
But Nelson didn’t really argue that he deserved kudos for accepting the conclusions of the scientific community; he argued that Republicans on the other side of the issue need to explain why they think “99.5 percent of climate scientists” are wrong. Several prominent Republicans in South Florida—including Miami-Dade County mayor Carlos Gimenez and Reps. Carlos Curbelo and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen—have made it clear they believe Washington needs to take climate seriously. Nelson pointed out that politicians don’t question government scientists when they say a hurricane is coming—but when the same agencies use the same scientific instruments to measure long-term climate trends, opinions suddenly differ.
“It’s ironic, isn’t it?” Nelson said. “They accept the hurricane information, but deny the climate information … Look, some people still think the Earth is flat.”
And Scott knew he could not fuck up his response to Hurricane Irma if he wasn’t serious about running:
Florida Gov. Rick Scott's (R) handling of Hurricane Irma has boosted his profile ahead of an expected Senate bid.
Scott is term-limited out of the governor’s mansion, and Republicans, including President Trump, have urged him to consider challenging Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) next year. His aggressive approach to Irma, which saw him order an extensive evacuation ahead of the storm and coordinate disaster relief efforts as the storm came ashore, has sent his political stock even higher.
Before Irma, Scott’s ability to respond to a hurricane had gone mostly untested, with Florida avoiding a major storm for his entire term. But the governor’s preparedness has impressed Republicans and some Democrats, all of whom have long expected Scott to challenge Nelson next year.
Scott “came up to bat having never been through a huge storm,” said Anthony Pedicini, a Tampa-based Republican consultant.
“This was a storm that was going to affect the entire state and the most populated portions of the state. This guy has handled it like he’s done it every day.”
In the days before Irma cut across the state this past weekend, Scott was a constant presence on Florida televisions, urging more than 7 million residents to evacuate.
The governor ordered police escorts for gasoline tankers to help fuel evacuees’ cars. In the wake of the storm, he’s made a point to quickly repair the state’s electricity grid and has stayed in contact with Trump, a longtime ally, promising federal support for the state’s recovery effort.
Scott toured the state throughout the effort, flanked at every turn by emergency personnel.
Irma was a “moment for him to shine,” said Chris Ingram, a GOP strategist.
“It solidifies his position as a leading contender in the Republican field” ahead of 2018, he said. “I think he’s pretty determined he’s going to do it and this just kind of helps scare away any potential challengers to him.”
Nelson, a three-term incumbent who has served through several hurricanes during his congressional tenure, has ramped up his public presence as well.
In the wake of Irma, he urged the Trump administration to establish an emergency gasoline reserve in Florida, similar to one established in the Northeast after Superstorm Sandy. And he’s made the rounds on television, giving high-profile national interviews before, during and after the storm.
Nelson missed Senate votes this week, telling CNN on Tuesday that he was moving through the state to inspect damage there.
“Now is the tough, hard reality of digging out of all of the rubble, cleaning it up, trying to get your power back,” he said. “And whether you got it with the wind, or whether you got it with the water, either way it’s a tough slog out.”
Officials in both parties consider the 74-year-old Nelson an institution of Florida politics, making it all the more important for Scott to get in the spotlight amid his administration’s most trying natural disaster.
“Bill Nelson is almost a staple in Florida,” Pedicini said. “But I think this is a defining moment [for Scott] in that, as the restoration and rebuilding continues here in day five ... I think he has even more chances to shine.”
This is going to be one expensive race but it’s going to be a big one in terms of battling climate change and fighting back against Trump’s climate denying agenda. Scott in the Senate would only push Trump pro-pollution, anti-environment agenda even further and we need to be ready. Click here to donate and get involved with Nelson’s re-election campaign.