Gaetz, Rubio, Curbelo, DeSantis Cough Up Lies On Climate As Florida Reels From Michael, Toxic Water
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Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL), the co-founder of the controversial bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus, has long touted himself as a Republican leader on climate issues. But like many Republicans in Florida, Curbelo is facing scrutiny over his response to Hurricane Michael.
Those of us who truly care about #climatechange must be sober when discussing its connection to #Hurricane Michael or any other storm, Curbelo wrote on Thursday, amid rising concern over the hurricane. Florida has had hurricanes for centuries. Theres no time to waste, but alarmists hurt the cause & move our fight for #climatesolutions backward. A number of experts, including climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, expressed concern over Curbelos comments and emphasized the link between hurricanes and warming waters.
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Curbelos evasive approach is popular with some other Republicans too. Rep. Matt Gaetz, who represents much of the western Florida Panhandle, acknowledges sea-level rise and its connection to climate change. But he has also previously called for abolishing the Environmental Protection Agency and has repeatedly stopped short of supporting bills that would tackle global warming. In the days since Michael hit, he has remained silent on any connection to climate change, despite the storms making landfall not far from his district. The representative was not readily available for comment to ThinkProgress on the issue.
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In a dead heat with Democrat Andrew Gillum, Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis has called himself a Teddy Roosevelt conservationist and pledged to address issues like sea-level rise in South Florida. But while Gillum, currently the mayor of Tallahassee, has a history of discussing climate change, DeSantis emphasized in September that he is not a global warming person while seeking to distance himself from the issue.
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https://thinkprogress.org/florida-republicans-climate-change-midterm-elections-hurricane-michael-f21d922a22ea/