As the election results come in, one thing is truly clear: the polluters win again/
The incoming House Republican majority will launch themselves, with enthusiasm, into a virulent anti-science agenda in service of enabling fossil-foolish polluters to continue to damage America’s economy, to sicken Americans, to weaken America’s and Americans’ future prospects.
While the fossil fools won’t win everything on their wish list, the damage that might result from their distorting influence on the election will be serious.
As Brendan DeMelle wrote prior to the polls opening, Outcome of U.S. Midterm Election Already Clear – Polluters Win Again.
With the advent of now limitless corporate donations polluting the democratic process thanks to the Supreme Court’s insane ruling on Citizens United, dirty energy interests, Wall Street fat cats and lobbyists will run America for the foreseeable future.
Corporations have long enjoyed the advantage of spending a tiny amount (compared to their enormous profits) to influence the entire political system, buying future access and favors that pay off for years to come, simply by driving contributions to their favored candidates in every contest from local zoning board races to governors to U.S. Senators.
But thanks to Citizens United, corporate influence is now far more invasive and impactful. Polluters can freely run attack ads and vicious smear campaigns against climate hawks, deploy their front groups to mislead voters on everything from health care to global warming, sponsor ballot initiatives to kill clean energy progress, and generally play fast and dirty with zero accountability for their actions.
The result: the tragic collapse of American democracy,
And, sadly, Brendan is likely correct …
A lot of the anti-science candidates – whose antics on the campaign trail have made for humorous, if horrifying, spectacle – are about to become anti-science lawmakers with a vote in Congress. That spells disaster for climate and energy policy, and all other legislative efforts that rely on a respect for facts and a willingness to negotiate.
The anti-science caucus is coming to a Congress near you, and we have polluters and wealthy corporate fat cats largely to thank for it.