Political ad hits out at climate sceptic Republican hopefuls in 2016, as oil funders ready $900m election arsenal
Via (http://www.popeorkochs.com/)
By Alex Pashley
The next occupant of the White House could be a climate sceptic.
Out of the dozen-strong field so far going for the Republican nomination, frontrunners Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and Jeb Bush all dispute man-made climate change’s existence.
A provocative video ad probes those convictions. Do you believe the Pope when he called climate change a “principal challenge” for humanity in this month’s encyclical, asks Americans United for Change in the 30-second clip.
Or do you back billionaire fossil fuel investors the Koch Brothers, who are “bankrolling the Anti-pope movement”?
If sceptics get the upper hand, they could reverse President Obama’s climate plan, with global significance as the second-largest emitter of carbon dioxide changes tack.
“The Koch’s sent their stooges at the Heartland Institute to try to change Pope Francis’ mind on climate change… and attack his character when he refused,” reads the website.
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“These mega-polluters are planning to spend nearly $900 million to put a Koch-endorsed candidate in the White House in 2016, which has GOP hopefuls tripping over themselves to attack the environment, attack climate change and even attack the Pope.”
The site then runs a list of comments by candidates. “Today, the global warming alarmists are the equivalent of the flat-Earthers,” is one attributed to Cruz in comments to the Texas Tribune in March.