Al Gore, Democratic State Attorneys Generals Out to Silence Climate Change Dissenters
In what has to be among the sharpest salvos fired in modern times against free speech and freedom of expression, a coalition of seven state attorneys general has been formed to silence climate change critics.
One of those attorneys general filed a subpoena in April to obtain a decade of research and records from a pro-freedom market think tank that questions the findings of global warming advocates.
Last week, the case against the Washington-based Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) took a new direction when Attorney General Claude Walker of the U.S. Virgin Islands suddenly announced he was withdrawing the subpoena action he filed in the District of Columbia.
But no one at CEI thinks that the assault on them and their arguments against man-made global warming is over — not by a long shot.
Noting that the original subpoena against his group that was filed in the Virgin Islands remains, CEI General Counsel Sam Kazman told reporters that Walker and his fellow attorneys general "apparently think they can continue their unconstitutional intimidation campaign against anyone that challenges their view of climate change."
This latest exchange between CEI and its "legal eagle" antagonists is the culmination of actions that began in April with the launching of the new "Attorneys General United for Clean Power."
"We stand ready to defend the next president's climate change agenda, and vow to fight any efforts to roll-back the meaningful progress we've made over the past eight years," said New York' Attorney General Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
As if to underscore that they mean business when it comes to climate change, Schneiderman and the new attorneys' general group were flanked by another Democrat who has perhaps done more than anyone else to make the issue part of the national political dialogue: Al Gore.
The former vice president and Oscar-winning producer of the pro-climate change film "An Inconvenient Truth," is the country's leading advocate for green projects to mitigate carbon emissions.
Part of the agenda of Gore, Schneiderman, Walker and company was the subpoena against the 20-year-old CEI, which is one of the most respected conservative think tanks in Washington and premier voices for the view that there is no persuasive evidence that the earth faces any severe threat to it.
"And part of the agenda of those who hold the opposite view is to use so-called law enforcement to shut down debate on the issue," CEI's Kazman told Newsmax.
Hence, he noted, "the pursuit of records and documents that will be incredibly time-consuming for us. So far, we've spent tens of thousands in attorneys' fees just dealing with this action.
But it has cost us dearly in the Kazman and others at CEI made clear their feeling that prolonged legal action and the resulting publicity will possibly drive away contributors to the organization.
But, Kazman quickly added, "we have always taken free market positions and actions without regard to what contributors think."
He recalled how CEI opposed the automobile company bailout in 2009 despite have financial backers in the auto industry. In addition, said Kazman, "We opposed the big tobacco settlement.
"Contributors come and go. Issues and the question of which position is right and which is wrong are most important to us."
Kazman also believes that the goal of the attorneys general and climate change advocates in pursuing legal action is to discourage scientists and leaders in the science community from speaking out by questioning evidence of man made global warming.
Whatever the cost to those who question climate change and no matter how long it takes to quash the actions of the attorneys general, Kazman believes His group will emerge triumphant in the end.
In his words, "Al Gore's 'inconvenient truth' has run into an inconvenient Amendment — the First one.'"
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax.
One of those attorneys general filed a subpoena in April to obtain a decade of research and records from a pro-freedom market think tank that questions the findings of global warming advocates.
Last week, the case against the Washington-based Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) took a new direction when Attorney General Claude Walker of the U.S. Virgin Islands suddenly announced he was withdrawing the subpoena action he filed in the District of Columbia.
But no one at CEI thinks that the assault on them and their arguments against man-made global warming is over — not by a long shot.
Noting that the original subpoena against his group that was filed in the Virgin Islands remains, CEI General Counsel Sam Kazman told reporters that Walker and his fellow attorneys general "apparently think they can continue their unconstitutional intimidation campaign against anyone that challenges their view of climate change."
This latest exchange between CEI and its "legal eagle" antagonists is the culmination of actions that began in April with the launching of the new "Attorneys General United for Clean Power."
"We stand ready to defend the next president's climate change agenda, and vow to fight any efforts to roll-back the meaningful progress we've made over the past eight years," said New York' Attorney General Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
As if to underscore that they mean business when it comes to climate change, Schneiderman and the new attorneys' general group were flanked by another Democrat who has perhaps done more than anyone else to make the issue part of the national political dialogue: Al Gore.
The former vice president and Oscar-winning producer of the pro-climate change film "An Inconvenient Truth," is the country's leading advocate for green projects to mitigate carbon emissions.
Part of the agenda of Gore, Schneiderman, Walker and company was the subpoena against the 20-year-old CEI, which is one of the most respected conservative think tanks in Washington and premier voices for the view that there is no persuasive evidence that the earth faces any severe threat to it.
"And part of the agenda of those who hold the opposite view is to use so-called law enforcement to shut down debate on the issue," CEI's Kazman told Newsmax.
Hence, he noted, "the pursuit of records and documents that will be incredibly time-consuming for us. So far, we've spent tens of thousands in attorneys' fees just dealing with this action.
But it has cost us dearly in the Kazman and others at CEI made clear their feeling that prolonged legal action and the resulting publicity will possibly drive away contributors to the organization.
But, Kazman quickly added, "we have always taken free market positions and actions without regard to what contributors think."
He recalled how CEI opposed the automobile company bailout in 2009 despite have financial backers in the auto industry. In addition, said Kazman, "We opposed the big tobacco settlement.
"Contributors come and go. Issues and the question of which position is right and which is wrong are most important to us."
Kazman also believes that the goal of the attorneys general and climate change advocates in pursuing legal action is to discourage scientists and leaders in the science community from speaking out by questioning evidence of man made global warming.
Whatever the cost to those who question climate change and no matter how long it takes to quash the actions of the attorneys general, Kazman believes His group will emerge triumphant in the end.
In his words, "Al Gore's 'inconvenient truth' has run into an inconvenient Amendment — the First one.'"
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax.
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