Steve Scalise Wants To "Talk Honestly About Science"; IOW, It's A Conspiracy To "Control Your Life"

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise appeared on Fox Business last week, and made clear that he still, even now, is unmoved by climate change evidence. “We had hot summers 150 years ago, when we didn’t have the combustion engine,” the Louisiana Republican declared. “But they don’t want to talk honestly about science; they just want to control your life.”

The idea that some nefarious “they” are determined to “control” Americans’ lives is deeply odd, and offered fresh evidence that GOP lawmakers might benefit from actually having a conversation or two with those who accept reality. Honestly, why would those who understand global warming want to “control your life”? To what end? Who thinks this way? But the rest of the Republican leader’s quote was just as notable. To hear Scalise tell it, to “talk honestly about science” would mean acknowledging that hot summers are routine. But if the congressman is sincere about his interest in an “honest” dialog, there’s plenty of evidence Scalise really ought to consider. As USA Today reported:

Summers are always hot. But this summer is different in some profound ways. Record-breaking temperatures are hitting multiple cities. Phoenix recorded an unprecedented nineteen consecutive days over 110 degrees. Death Valley reached 128 on Sunday. Records are falling everywhere. It’s not your imagination: This is not a typical summer.

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Daniel Swain, a UCLA climate scientist, told the newspaper that natural variability still exists, “but we’re starting to see the long-term, human-caused warming signal overwhelming that volatility. At this point, there aren’t any unprecedentedly extreme heat events on Earth that haven’t been exacerbated by climate change.” I know enough about contemporary American politics to know that no amount of evidence would persuade Scalise, but if he could get over his conspiracy theory about unidentified rascals who want to “control” Americans’ lives for some unstated reason, the GOP leader might realize that an “honest” conversation about science would lead to some facts he prefers not to acknowledge.

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https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/gops-steve-scalise-flubs-call-honest-talk-climate-rcna95354