Ted Cruz's Last Stand

While Donald Trump promotes his own agenda, the Koch Brothers prefer to have surrogates do it for them.  This week, the Kochs are sponsoring one of their Freedom Partners summits in California, with five presidential candidates on hand to promote their causes.  It's about what you would expect, right-wing radicals telling those gathered exactly what the Kochs want them to hear, but Ted stole the show with his incredible pronouncement that global warming "ain't happening," citing satellite photographs and comparing climate scientists to flat-earthers.

This is probably Ted's boldest stance on climate change.  Before he would use the common intro, "I'm not a scientist, but ..."  Now, he seems to think he has some inside knowledge as he is privy to all these photographs as chairman of the Senate subcommittee on science and space.  I guess in his mind that makes him a scientist.

We've all seen the rendered photographs of New York and other coastal cities underwater.  Nature Climate Change published a scientific article by Christopher Watson using "GPS measurements to overturn previous suggestions that rates had slowed in the past decade."  This doesn't deter Ted though, who sticks with his claim, "for the past 18 years, there has been zero record warming."

The Republicans love nothing more than to engage in false debates.  They continue to peddle the creationist theory in one form or another.  Ted hasn't come down one way or the other on this particular debate.  However, he has shown where his sympathies lie - at the feet of the Koch Brothers who have enormous wealth to underwrite a presidential candidate.

The support of the Koch Brothers would level the playing field against Donald Trump, who seems to be in this race for the long haul.  I suppose this is why Donald has now turned his attacks on the Kochs, knowing that his resources are no match for the Wisconsin brothers.   Ted is up for the challenge, ready to engage Donald in the same type of overblown rhetoric, as this seems to be what ignites the base of the Republican party.  The Kochs will probably still keep Scott Walker in their bull pen, as you never know how this campaign will shake out.

Jeb has been rather quiet of late, but he has a huge war chest of his own.  Estimates place his campaign funds at $120 million, so whatever he gets from the Kochs will just be icing on the cake.  The others, however, badly need the Kochs' support.  Hence, the summit, so to speak, to audition for the two Brothers like you would on Shark Tank.

Goerge Pataki is the only GOP candidate to come out and say that global warming is real.  However, his preferred approach to the crisis is through private initiatives.  He set up an Alliance to Save Energy, but it is pretty small potatoes at this point, and not much chance of getting the Koch Brothers on his side, as their energy plans run counter to any such conservation efforts.

Pataki won't even be on the stage Thursday night to offer a challenge to the other candidates, as I'm sure global warming will come up now that President Obama has issued his latest executive decree enforcing tougher carbon restrictions.  Poor George has failed to reach the threshold of one per cent national support necessary to even be on the invitation list for the 5 o'clock warm-up match.

Ted has been the President's fiercest critic on everything from Climate Change to the Iran nuclear agreement, so no surprise he goes on the offensive at the Koch Brothers, I mean Freedom Partners Summit.  But, honestly Ted, comparing today's leading scientists to Flat-earthers?  Surely, you can do better than this.