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John McCain has made the choice. Already a hypocrite in talking the talk when it came to Global Warming, but taking the oil walk, choosing Sarah Palin put the nails in the coffin as to any shred of a claim that John McCain represents change in the Republican Party when it comes to acknowledging anthropogenic causes for Global Warming.

Let us be clear, very clear, John McCain had a choice. He could have gone ‘green’ (or at least light green) when choosing a female Republican governor. He actually had multiple ‘light green’ options in front of him.

Female. Republican. Governor. Reasonable ‘light’ green credentials. Hmmm. Let us look to three.

Linda Lingle is in her second term as Governor of Hawaii. Lingle not only believes in Global Warming, but also believes in acting. Under her leadership, Hawaii has set targets of reducing GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 (inadequate target, but a start …) and, even more impressively, moving from 90+% of electricity coming from burning oil to 70% renewable electricity by 2030. Hawaii has put solar hot water into the building code as required for new construction. And …

Christine Todd Whitman served from 1994 to 2001 as New Jersey’s governor before going on to be the first Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under George W Bush. While much could be said about ‘moderate’ Todd Whitman, re Global Warming, she sees humanity’s role and supports Cap & Trade as a response. Let us look at her recent words re Global Warming:

There’s no question that the climate is changing and scientists will tell you that one of the outcomes of that is more frequent and more severe storms, droughts, and floods. They just can’t tell you when or where these things will actually occur. … Scientists will tell you that there is a definite correlation between these temperature changes that we’re seeing and the frequency and intensity and severity of storms.

M Jodi Rell has been Governor of Connecticut since July 2004 and was Lieutenant Governor for the prior decade. In 2007, she co-wrote an OPED with California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger: Lead or Step Aside, EPA: States can’t wait on Global Warming.

It’s bad enough that the federal government has yet to take the threat of global warming seriously, but it borders on malfeasance for it to block the efforts of states such as California and Connecticut that are trying to protect the public’s health and welfare.

Just this past June, Rell signed a Global Warming bill.

“Connecticut continues to lead by example in our environmental efforts,” Governor Rell said. “As stewards of Connecticut, a healthy environment is one of the most important things we can pass along to our children. This new law requires actions that will benefit not just Connecticut but the entire nation by decreasing pollution, saving energy and reducing our dependency on foreign fuel. By capping greenhouse gas emissions, we will reduce our carbon footprint, conserve energy and improve air quality in Connecticut while leading the way for the rest of the nation.”

Neither Lingle nor Whitman nor Rell rate marks as rabid environmentalists, battlers for stretch targets to protect humanity from catastrophic climate change. They do, however, have some claims to credibility in ‘light green’ terms when it comes to trying to find solution paths to real problems.

They are , as well, experienced and with far more serious credentials than Wasilla, Alaska’s former Mayor and less than two year Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin.

If John McCain wanted to provide a basis for arguing that there were real options in the ballot box for dealing with Global Warming, these female Republican Governors could have provided substance to that argument. But, John McCain rejected the concept of moving to protect us (the US) against catastrophic climate change with his choice of Sarah “Pit Bull with Lipstick” Palin and his embrace of the anti-science and anti-knowledge fringe of the Republican Party.

Now,  these women continue to drink their Party’s kool-aid. They have spoken up (vehemently) in defense and support of Global Warming-denier Sarah Palin. It isn’t just on global warming terms that this is hard to understand. While speaking glowingly of Palin, in the past, Linda Lingle actually rejected donations from extreme Christian fundamentalists of the ilk of Sarah Palin’s church.

If John McCain actually were concerned about Global Warming and wished to choose an experienced Republican female Governor to join him on the ticket, Linda Lingle, M Jodi Rell, and Christine Todd Whitman provided him a choice. It isn’t only when it comes to a woman’s right to control decisions about her body that John McCain is viscerally anti-sensible choices.