As the climate crisis intensifies, and national GOP figures generally refuse to even consider solutions or evidence, it’s hard not to wonder sometimes whether there’s anyone in Republican politics who recognizes the problem and believes action is necessary.
For those who believe the evidence, there’s some good news: yes, such Republicans exist. The bad news is, their total number is alarmingly small.
With Pope Francis scheduled for a U.S. tour next week, including a scheduled speech to a joint session of Congress on Thursday, Rep. Chris Gibson (R-N.Y.) thought it’d be worthwhile to put together a resolution on the climate crisis for his fellow Republicans to support.
“This is a call for action to study how humans are impacting our environment and to look for consensus on areas where we can take action to mitigate the risks and balance our impacts,” the New York congressman told National Journal.
So, how did the initiative turn out?
Eleven House Republicans signed on to a resolution Thursday that recognizes humans have a role in causing climate change.The resolution also endorses steps to combat global warming, though it stops well short of calling for specific solutions.
Yes, 11 GOP House members endorsed the vague resolution, which endorses “economically viable, and broadly supported private and public solutions” that are intended to address “measured changes to our global and regional climates.”
Eleven House Republicans were comfortable with this. There are, in case you’re curious, 247 GOP lawmakers in the chamber, each of whom was invited to add their name to his inoffensive resolution. That works out to a total of about 4% of the caucus.
In case you’re curious, the list featured Gibson, the chief sponsor, along with Republican Reps. Carlos Curbelo (Fla.), David Reichert (Wash.) Robert Dold (Ill.) Richard Hanna (N.Y.), Patrick Meehan (Pa.), Michael Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Fla.), Ryan Costello (Pa.), Elise Stefanik (N.Y.) and Frank LoBiondo (N.J.).
Not one red-stater in the bunch.
As best as I can tell, there is no comparable measure in the Senate, where the number of Republican lawmakers who acknowledge global warming is likely even smaller.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."