During his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, Mitt Romney took a shot at President Obama’s position on climate change, telling convention-goers that Obama "promised to slow the rise of the oceans and to heal the planet,” but that he plans to "help you and your family” instead. And he has repeated the sentiment since. How will Romney’s stance on climate, including his jab at Obama’s position, affect his campaign?
(40 votes)
- Help 12.5%
- Hurt 22.5%
- No Difference 65%
Help
“I think it will help a bit—not because Romney took a shot at Obama on climate change, but because his jab helps to reinforce the notion the Obama is focused on big causes rather than on the things that really affect the average American.”
Hurt
“If the president is able to use it in the debates on in ads as a another marker for Romney's lack of caring about the 47 percent—in this case about the impacts—drought, food prices, storms, etc.”
“The extreme weather events of the last year are leading more and more voters to recognize the reality that climate change is occurring and that there is a huge cost associated with doing nothing to combat it. Romney's attacks don't help him with anyone but the hard Right and he needs to reach out to independents who are actually sympathetic to the notion of moving to a clean energy economy.”
“It will hurt because Obama took up the challenge and took it to Romney. The environmental community has jumped on this, and it matters to young people as well.”
“Playing to your base is different than mocking scientific reality. Romney has lost or is at least losing whatever credibility he had among independent voters, and his pandering to James Inhofe and the American Petroleum Institute is yet another example.”
No Difference
“The battle lines between the two candidates on energy and environment issues were drawn long ago.”
“The political bases are dug in on this issue. Making the direct link from climate change policy to a slow-growth, high-unemployment economy for independents is too difficult.”
“This is too far down the public's radar scope to make a meaningful difference.”
“Most Americans care little about the climate agenda. In fact, the vast majority of Americans didn't even realize that [Romney] was referencing the president's position on climate.”
“Since this is turning out to be a base election, Romney is not talking to voters who might be turned off by his (newfound) skepticism toward climate change.”
“Cute line, but the voters who are as dismissive of climate concerns as Romney is are already voting for him."
“There is really nothing that came out of Tampa that could help Romney at this point. But besides agitating big-city misanthropes, that line means nothing.”
“Romney's gaffe-prone campaign has far bigger problems than his pandering to climate deniers."
“The folks that are on the fence about Obama or Romney are not on the fence because of climate change. They are concerned about the economy and perhaps now foreign affairs. The Romney comments flame up both bases, but at the end is probably a wash.”
“Help slightly in Ohio, Michigan. Hurt slightly in Florida, Nevada.”
“Public doesn't care about climate change since there is no belief by anyone that a bill could pass Congress.”
National Journal’s Energy and Environment Insiders Poll is a periodic survey of energy policy experts. They include:
Jeff Anderson, Paul Bailey, Kenneth Berlin, Andrew J. Black, Denise Bode, Kevin Book, Pat Bousliman, Michael Bromwich, David Brown, Neil Brown, Stephen Brown, Kateri Callahan, McKie Campbell, Guy Caruso, Neil Chatterjee, Paul Cicio, Douglas Clapp, Eileen Claussen, Steve Cochran, Phyllis Cuttino, Kyle Danish, Lee Dehihns, Robbie Diamond, David Di Martino, Bob Dinneen, Sean Donahue, Tom Dower, Jeff Duncan, John Felmy, Mike Ference, David Foster, Josh Freed, Don Furman, Paul Gilman, Richard Glick, Kate Gordon, Chuck Gray, Jason Grumet, Christopher Guith, Lewis Hay, Laura Haynes, Fritz Hirst, Jeff Holmstead, David Holt, Skip Horvath, Bob Irvin, Bill Johnson, Gene Karpinski, Joseph T. Kelliher, Brian Kennedy, Kevin Knobloch, David Kreutzer, Fred Krupp, Tom Kuhn, Con Lass, Mindy Lubber, Frank Maisano, Drew Maloney, Roger Martella, John McArther, Mike McKenna, Bill McKibben, Kristina Moore, Richard Myers, Aric Newhouse, Frank O’Donnell, Mike Olson, T. Boone Pickens, Thomas Pyle, Hal Quinn, Rhone Resch, Barry Russell, Joseph Schultz, Bob Simon, Scott Sklar, Bill Snape, Jeff Sterba, Linda Stuntz, Christine Tezak, Susan Tierney, Andrew Wheeler, Brian Wolff, Franz Wuerfmannsdobler, and Todd Young.
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