Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that he wouldn’t comment on climate change because he “not a scientist,” a remark for which other Republicans have been skewered by Democrats and environmental groups.
The Kentucky Republican told the Cincinnati Enquirer’s editorial board that his time was better spent beating back Obama administration environmental regulations that he blamed for the state’s coal industry woes.
“I’m not a scientist, I am interested in protecting Kentucky’s economy, I’m interested in having low cost electricity,” McConnell said, according to an account from the Louisville Courier-Journal.
Scientists say humans cause climate change, largely by burning greenhouse gas-emitting fossil fuels.
Other Republicans, such as Florida Gov. Rick Scott, have been put on the defensive for saying they can’t comment on what’s driving climate change because they’re “not a scientist.” Critics have noted politicians often make decisions on policies in which they’re not experts, and that the data behind rising emissions and temperatures is clear.
But unlike other Republicans who tendered the “not a scientist” explanation, it’s less likely such a line could do any damage to McConnell.
His Democratic challenger, Alison Lundergran Grimes, also has railed against Environmental Protection Agency regulations, such as a proposal to limit carbon emissions from power plants. Environmental groups haven’t come to her aid — even though she could potentially knock off the Senate’s top Republican — because of her stances on policies designed to curb climate change.
Despite attacks against Obama administration regulations from both candidates, Kentucky’s coal-mining industry has been on the decline for decades. More recent downturns have been more exacerbated by competition from cheap natural gas than the Obama administration’s environmental regulations, though the latter are beginning to affect long-term plans for coal-fired power plant retirements.
