Commentary By Ron Beasley
It's not too surprising the public views on energy VS the environment have shifted after the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
But it has had no impact on the Republicans.
This has to be something the Democrats can use in the months leading up to the November elections. They need to introduce a strong energy bill and let the Republicans block it. Once again the Republicans are so out of touch.
The Democrats could use it more credibly if they weren't hamstrung by an administration of their own party which exalts energy production above environmental considerations. I think they ought to use it anyway, with or without help from the Keystone Kops in charge, because this issue is too important to wait around for the administration to start caring about it.
ReplyDeleteImpervious to reality. No surprise there, really.
ReplyDeleteI read about an experiment recently completed.
ReplyDeleteThe subjects are comprised of two groups, each one having an equal number of Conservatives and Progressives in it.
The first group is read an old, mostly erroneous news story publishes prior to the Iraq war accusing that Country of having weapons of mass destruction and attempting to get yellowcake uranium etc.. This group is then asked to rate wether they believe or disbelieve different aspects of the story. When they looked at the answers the outcome is that the Progressives are aware of the errors while the Conservatives are far more likely to believe the errors even ten years later.
The second group is read the same story. But this time each error in the story is explained to the group. It is "fact checked" for them and evidence is provided.
This group is also asked to rate wether they believe or disbelieve different aspects of the story. There is little change in the ratings given by Progressives.
Conservatives rated even stronger belief in the bullshit when it was fact checked.
You may have wondered why you can't change the minds of your Conservative friends or family with facts. Well there it is. It's not just that facts mean nothing to them, it's worse. than that. When confronted with evidence that disagree with their beliefs, they retreat even further into them. They double down on their bullshit, eyes shut tightly, fingers in their ears, singing louder and louder.