New Republic reveals 'planet's worst nightmare,' and it's not climate change

Brett T. | 5:13 PM on November 23, 2015

Just like the Obama administration, the New Republic knows very well that climate change is the No. 1 threat to the planet, so this tweet from Daily Beast columnist Stuart Stevens is a bit of a trick question.

Planet's worst nightmare? Not ISIS, not Iran nuke, not North Korea, not EU collapse or US crash, for @NewRepublic: https://t.co/KpRuYyAXub

— stuart stevens (@stuartpstevens) November 23, 2015

According to the New Republic’s Rebecca Leber, the planet’s worst nightmare is “a Republican White House” — because a Republican president would “unravel everything Obama has put in place” to reverse climate change, including his Clean Power Plan, methane regulations for natural gas, land and ocean conservation, clean-water reforms, solar and wind development, and air-pollution regulations.

In an interview with Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, Leber reveals that should Clinton become the Democrat nominee (what are the chances of that?), she plans to “hammer Republicans” for being out of touch with American voters on the subject of climate change. “I think that unlike past campaigns, including the Obama campaigns, this will be a front-and-center issue.” Please, run with that.

“… electing a Republican — any Republican — is as good as saying America welcomes a world of 4 degrees Celsius or more of warming,” writers Leber. “That is double the level at which scientists and world leaders think civilization can adapt.”