On PolitiCal: Fiorina announces support for rollback of state's global warming law

One of the more memorable exchanges in Wednesday night's debate between Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer and Republican challenger Carly Fiorina was Fiorina's refusal to take a position on Proposition 23, which would suspend California's landmark global warming law until unemployment drops to 5.5% or lower for four consecutive quarters.

But as Fiorina headed out of the country to Israel, her campaign put out a nuanced statement Friday that said she supported Proposition 23.

“Proposition 23 is a band-aid fix and an imperfect solution to addressing our nation’s climate and energy challenges. The real solution to these challenges lies not with a single state taking action on its own, but rather with global action," Fiorina said in her statement. "That’s why we need a comprehensive, national energy solution that funds energy R&D and takes advantage of every source of domestic energy we have -– including nuclear, wind and solar -– in an environmentally responsible way. That said, AB 32 is undoubtedly a job killer, and it should be suspended.”

Read the full story at The Times' PolitiCal blog: Fiorina announces support for Proposition 23 to roll back state's global warming law

Photo: With less than two months before the election, U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Republican candidate Carly Fiorina faced off in their first debate. Credit: Carlos Avila Gonzalez/Getty Images

Comments

[peter]

The key for the Dems to win in Nov is getting the Hispanic vote in LA County. They need at least one 1 million Hispanics to vote Democrat in LA County to counteract the rest of state(Excluding Alameda County), which will vote majority Republican. Look for acorn-type activist groups to register fake ID illegal voters in LA's vast ghetto districts. There wil be at least 1/2 million
illegal immigrant fraudulent votes dredged up from the murkey LA Barrios. It is far easier to register fake ID hispanic non-citzens to vote illegally than to use chicago-style dead or cemetary voter rolls. As the immigrant LA Hispanic population has long experience in using fake ID's, and a complete ready-made setup in LA for fake ID doc mills, transferring this knowhow over to LA voter registration fraud should be a piece of cake

That is why the LA County SEIU/AFL-CIO are launching a huge drive to register LA voters and get Hispanics to the polls. That is why LA keeps funding welfare to illegals and their anchors at cost of 2 billion/yr for schools, health care, policing, and other welfare payouts. Obama adm knows this and that is why he injected 60 million for bolstering medicare to LA County. The welfare payouts to illegals is the bribe paid to the LA Hispanic voter block to keep them in the Dem column

[peter]

The CA politicians who passed the 'landmark' AB 32 measure constitute collectively the most moronic legislative body on the planet . The earth has gone thru repeated oscillations of warm & cold periods. regardless of man, for eons. Major geologic/astronomical and/or catastrophic events such as volcanic/fissue eruptions, solar flares, slight changes in earth orbit or tilt, tectonic shifts, ect, all can alter earths climate. Earth's geology is dynamic, not static. We are worried over a 30-70 CM sea level rise in next 100 years. That will only affect a relatively few owners of expensive CA beach front properties. Holland was able to flourish by building dikes to wall off the sea. Man will adapt to rising sea levels over time, if seas do in fact rise , and the rate and extent of rise is still hotly debated in science.

[peter]

The Liberal factions which run CA deliberately want as many illegals and their anchor spawn jammed into CA for one reason: POWER. They want and need the votes of the Hispanics and it matters little to them if much of SoCal/LA have become vast illegal-alien spawned filthy polluted 3rd world ghettos infested with illegal-alien spawned gangs and graffiti..

The leftist ,radical 'progressive' state employee public sector unions and their congressional puppets have caused the bankruptcy of CA. They only stay in power because they have allowed the massive infiltration of illegals into CA in order to court the Hispanic vote, which allows the Sacto/San Francisco/LA-based leftist progressives & state public sector unions in power to stay in power, dominate CA politics and maintain their inflated pensions, which are a prime reason that CA is reeling and bankrupt.

The lying Lib 'progressives' could care less about the SoCal/LA environment with it's 1000+ square miles of filthy polluted 3rd world ghettos, as long as they can confine them to LA's immigrant barrios, as a ruthless totalitarian regime would wall off a ghetto. Meanwhile they will make rest of CA a pollution-free/jobless state with a few fabricated scam green jobs at cost of 1-2 million 'polluting' blue collar/trades jobs.

[livingxforever]

@Andrew B.: I like your reasoning :)
"Just how many jobs is tough to pinpoint, since some businesses will have more ability to reduce their energy consumption than others."

I feel like it is a risk CA should be willing to take.
In the long term, 'green' jobs are more sustainable than 'dirty' jobs.

I don't see oil-dependent cars being taken out of the equation anytime soon, but potentially the energy companies supplying power to people's homes.

It would allow people to pioneer businesses and become successful with less ecological impact. I feel as though our government is biased in favor of old, rich and powerful energy giants and that is only one of the reasons they have not supported a new group of people to become wealthy in a way that is truly 'American.'

[Andrew B.]

As a Republican with "green" leanings, I admit to being somewhat torn on this issue. I am encouraged by California's emergence as a leader in "cleantech" and the potential for this to create many more good jobs right here, while furthering the goal of US energy independence. (California is now an important center in the electric car industry.)

To avoid jeopardizing this "bright spot" in California's economy, and because I want to make our state a better place, I will most likely vote "no" on Prop. 23. At the same time, I know that higher energy costs will result in the loss or relocation of an unknown number of jobs, in an already-hurting economy. Just how many jobs is tough to pinpoint, since some businesses will have more ability to reduce their energy consumption than others.

I do know that at the individual level, many of us could do much better at conservation with no real impact on our lifestyles. With this in mind, implementing A.B. 32 might not hurt as much as some believe. Overall, in the long run, it could improve our quality of life and economy.

[Tom]

I can not believe that someone like Fiorina would actually say that California should do nothing, but instead wait for the entire GLOBE to do something about the environment. California has never waited on Bangladesh, Texas or Israel to do what is best for California.

Why is Fiorina even heading to Israel just before the election?

Instead, she should be listening to Californians and trying to solve the problems facing California. What did Israel ever contribute to California? I can't think of anything.

More over, it is exactly on the California state level, where a lot of progress has been made on the environment and on green jobs and the green economy.

The statement that green policies cost jobs is also wrong. It's like saying seat belts, air bags or environmental systems on cars cost jobs in the auto industry because they raise the prices of automobiles - and completely ignoring the positive financial effects these have which far exceed the costs.

Green policies are a win win for California and only the dirty fossil fuel industry loses. Is that why Fiorina is headed to Israel?

California, by being a leader in green policies has helped the entire nation in the past. For instance California's automobile emission standards has been stricter than that of the federal government and other states. Eventually California's stricter standard has been adopted almost nation wide.

[Paul Taylor Examiner]

California voters can also rein in climate laws like the California Global Warming Solutions Act (A.B. 32) by voting for the Prop. 23 ballot initiative November 2nd. Prop. 23 would suspend implementation of A.B. 32 until the state’s unemployment rate is reduced to below 5.5%. Estimates are that A.B. 32 could cost the state an additional one million job losses with its cap-and –trade system to reduce greenhouse gases to 1990 levels.

What is clear in California is that partisan ideologies and cultish environmentalism have replaced prudent science and rational environmental policy decisions. Militant environmentalism and green-obsessed bureaucrats have become an “axis of antagonism” that Californians can no longer afford.

[Julia Shates]

AB32 isn't just for combatting climate change- it is about making our state a nicer place to live... it is for the health of the people! Bad air quality and pollution is harmful to people, and the cleaner CA is, the healthier Californians will be.

[livingxforever]

"...these challenges lies not with a single state taking action on its own, but rather with global action..."

That is just SO wrong! How can we, the citizens of this PLANET, expect all of the different nations to get along and work together on such a large issue!

No, we the people need to step up and protect the planet using a "bottom-up" method; individuals, communities and local governments need to take action. This means that YES!!!, state measures are important (and necessary) in combatting climate change!

This issue gets me so upset.