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Cruz balks at questions on flooding, climate
Storms in Texas last week caused deadly flooding, and conditions in some areas grew even worse over the weekend. NBC News has confirmed that at least 24 people have died in Texas in the floods, and the death toll climbs when victims in Oklahoma and Mexico are added to the tally.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), like many officials in the Lone Star State, has worked on securing federal disaster relief for the affected areas. What the far-right senator has not been willing to do, however, is answer questions about the environmental conditions that may be contributing to the floods themselves.
CNN reported the other day that Cruz finds himself in a bind on climate change.
The Republican presidential contender has held two press conferences over the past two days to address the flooding and the governments response. At each one, he was asked about the impact of climate change on natural disasters like the Texas flooding, and at each one, he dodged the question.
In a time of tragedy, I think its wrong to try to politicize a natural disaster and so theres plenty of time to talk about other issues, he said in response to a question on his views on climate change during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
Its a curious response. For one thing, its not entirely clear how Cruz defines politicize to talk about environmental conditions contributing to an environmental disaster is political? Are we to believe references to science are inappropriate when Ted Cruz doesnt like the data?
For another, Cruzs rhetoric makes it sound as if hed welcome a discussion about the climate crisis and its devastating, real-world effects just not now. Theres plenty of time for this conversation, he said.
But the point is, Cruz has it backwards. As the crisis intensifies, and the disasters become more frequent and severe, there isnt plenty of time for conversations that climate deniers always want to push away.
Over at ThinkProgress, Emily Atkin argued yesterday that lets not politicize this carries with it a distinct Im not a scientist vibe.
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http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/cruz-balks-questions-flooding-climate?cid=eml_mra_20150601