Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)
I am appalled at the misleading and inaccurate rhetoric the four Democratic senators – Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), Elizabeth Warren (MA), Brian Schatz (HI), Edward Markey (MA) – used to smear the Heartland Institute in their derogatory letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
To put it mildly, their letter is misleading, inaccurate and defamatory to describe the Heartland Institute as “another notorious industry front group to disseminate fossil-fuel industry talking points” that PBS’s Frontline labels as “factually inaccurate” and “scientifically illegitimate materials on climate change.”
It’s not surprising that all four senators are Democrat, as climate change has become a politically partisan issue. Thus, Obama knew the Paris Climate Agreement would never pass the Republican-controlled Senate.
Their letter points out that Joe Bast, president of the Heartland Institute was quoted: “We’re getting a lot of requests for expert opinion from the White House …” This means that Heartland is being recognized for the quality organization that it is – at the forefront of legitimate science on climate change.
Heartland should use this letter from a group of liberal Democrats as a badge of courage and honor for their leadership in this area. To quote Mark Steyn: “They are a beacon of sanity” in a polluted area.
I’m a retired scientist in a non-related area and became interested in climate change mostly because of the mass of junk science that is being published. I write on climate change mostly for The Lakeland Times, an excellent newspaper that is widely read in northern Wisconsin and throughout the state and area. I depend on the Heartland Institute for timely information and for the truth. Others should do the same. They are a center for integrity and current correct interpretations of the climate change debate.
