Guest Column: Gordon Was Standing Tall In The Saddle Until He Backed Down
Guest columnist Gregory Wrightstone writes, “Gov. Gordon was standing tall in the saddle when he accepted an invitation to debate publicly his so-called carbon-negative policy in a state heavily engaged in the production of fossil fuels. However, he ultimately backed down.”
As reported by Cowboy State Daily, it all started when:
“Gordon came under fire late last month for comments he made at Harvard University, where he said Wyoming needs to urgently address climate change by becoming the first state to go ‘carbon negative,’ and that carbon dioxide is the ‘major contributor’ to the Earth’s warming climate.”
Being head of the Western Governors’ Association, Mr. Gordon is chief promoter of a “Decarbonizing the West” initiative that would include the development of a plant to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to avert the purported catastrophe of global warming.
However, the governor received fire from the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative state representatives, then a letter signed by 30 legislators and the Wyoming Secretary of State who invited him to debate the matter. As executive director of the CO2 Coalition, I was proud for our group to have been included:
“We, the undersigned members of the Wyoming legislative and executive branches, joined by our allies, the scientists of the CO2 Coalition, took notice of the sweeping policy change you announced for Wyoming in your speech last month at Harvard University. There, you declared publicly that Wyoming ‘will be the first state … [to] be carbon negative,’ meaning Wyoming will emit no ‘net’ CO2 into the atmosphere.
This commentary was first published at Cowboy State Daily 11/24/23.
Gregory Wrightstone is a geologist; executive director of the CO2 Coalition, Arlington, Va.; and author of “Inconvenient Facts: The science that Al Gore doesn’t want you to know” and “A Very Convenient Warming: How modest warming and more CO2 are benefiting humanity.”
Paleface speak with fork tongue and him havem yellow belly.
Tonto concur.
I was stunned when my Spanish teacher informed me that “tonto” meant “fool”, in Spanish. You know, like “Tonto, you ride on ahead and see if there is an ambush waiting for us in the pass”.
right away Kemo Sabe!
Now try Rocinante…
Tonto does not mean ‘fool’ in Spanish – the more literal translation would be ‘crazy (people)’ and is derived from the Tonto Apache tribe. Now, in the Lone Ranger series I always assumed Tonto was Apache not Spanish and, in Apache, ‘tonto’ means ‘wild people’ or ‘crazy people’ – a very much different interpretation from ‘fool’. If you wanted a similar idiom, ‘berserker’ would probably be closer, which does kinda change things a bit don’t it?
Lying dog faced pony soldier
OK, LOL, with coffee.
There’s always one.
Maybe the Governor has been reading Watts Up With That? He’s obviously realised there was no hope of reaching his impossible target!
He just figured out which side his bread was buttered on.
Butter? You mean from those methane emitters? 😉
He needs to be primary-‘d in the next election by an actual Republican.
by an actual Republican.
Sadly, not enough of those around.
By an actual MAGA Republican… hard to find.
If he was standing tall in the saddle he probably saw a low bridge coming up.
I wonder if he simply ‘chickened out’, or if he finally realized that he could name no facts at all that supported his position.
Got a call from ze boss.
First Cheney and now this! From a state that mines more coal than any other! Obviously he is in way over his head. Get his ass outa there ASAP!
Amen!
So, has anyone asked Gordy if he still stands by his carbon-negative policy? And has he been reminded when he’s up for re-election? He’s not see below:
Wikipedia says:
“In the U.S. state of Wyoming, the state legislature passed a bill limiting the office of Governor to two consecutive terms after Democratic Governor Edgar Herschler served three terms into the mid-1980s.”
Wyoming has a four year term for governor.
Another short search says:
“According to a recent report by the National Conference of State Legislatures, 18 states currently permit recall of state officials: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin.”
Wyoming is missing on that list.
So Wyoming is stuck with this ignorant suck-up for the next three years.
Hmm. Define a “high crime”. Gotta be a way of removing scumbags and idiots.
Yeah it’d take an impeachment vote by the legislature and a conviction I think?
Maybe the governor will stop breathing as much. In order to truly be carbon “negative, this should be a requirement.
Coward
If he was standing in a saddle, he probably suddenly realized he was likely to fall on his face. Standing is for circus acrobats and rodeo clowns.
More good news. At some point these knuckleheads will have to debate or shut up and stop wasting our money on this nonsense.
It is pretty clear, these loud mouthed climate alarmist who occupy publicly funded positions/office are full on believers in the CO2 is driving climate change, right up to the moment they are asked to stand up publicly and debate their position.
At the point they are asked to do nothing more complicated than explain their reasons for the views they hold, they cry off.
The much delayed Michael Mann versus common sense/Mark Steyn looks to finally be about to happen but the ten years Mann has been prevaricating and dodging the open court questioning of his unique take on how science is supposed to be done, has been expensive and draining on Mark Steyn.
Mark’s recent health challenges makes this court timing look conveniently contrived for Mann. Let us hope the brilliance of Steyn and his fundamental strength and honesty carries him through.
Mann needs to be shown up publicly for what he is.
I was thinking about that in the context of this latest revelation on how Mann invented his Hockey Stick and contrived the full methodology of how he did it.
After 25 years, Mann’s Other Nature Trick Unraveled • Watts Up With That?
Hah-vid? No doubt they cheered him wildly for those comments. Anything less and he would have been tarred and feathered. 🙂
“There, you declared publicly that Wyoming ‘will be the first state … [to] be carbon negative,’ meaning Wyoming will emit no ‘net’ CO2 into the atmosphere.”
uh… I thought carbon negative means you’re less than carbon zero? After all, somebody’s gotta drawn down all that CO2 that China and India are pumping out. So, regardless of cost, the people of Wyoming must do their duty. /sarc
Me thinks the governor ain’t too smart.
He sure sounds rather negative.
Riding (or maybe sitting) tall in the saddle is what we actually say out here. It was probably inevitable that Gordon would have to back out of this debate. He is a notorious “fence sitter” and why he jumped at the opportunity so quickly is a mystery. Then, probably after a talk with advisors, he decided it wasn’t such a good idea. But, now people in this state are wise to what probably occupies his mind. What we should have been doing since 2018 is recognize the severe threat of Democratic party policies toward energy, which is what puts bread on the table for this state, and begin formulating plans to counteract the eventual return of people who are, in my mind, some of the most foolish but determined nitwits this planet has ever produced.
I have said this elsewhere, but it bares repeating endlessly. The money quote in this whole issue was from State Senator Cheri Steinmetz who said “negative carbon will cost us everything.” That is such a good lede that I plan to steal it.
bears, not bares, darnit.
Only a problem in this context (or in a public place)…
Wyoming has bare bears? Gotta see that!
I’m pretty sure there is a plant, maybe more than one, able to remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
I’m not sure there are many plants that DON’T remove CO2 from the atmosphere, at least in daylight (at night they put it all back).
Gordon doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
I looked that gubenator up and he’s an east coast elite weenie. Real cowboys could take care of him quick, IMO.