The Hayhoe-Gingrich Connection

Neither of us on this blog ever jumped on the Newt Gingrich bandwagon and our reticence and skepticism has served us well. My opinion of Gingrich is evolving and it has evolved from thinking that Gingrich was a bright guy who didn't let his ideas mature enough to the less sanguine estimation that he is a person who cannot be trusted. The latest cause of mistrust concerns a FOIA request filed by the American Tradition Institute with Texas Tech University relating to collaboration on a book, using public time and resources, between “climate” activist Professor Katharine Hayhoe and presidential candidate Newt Gingrich. To date Texas Tech has not complied with that request. Chris Horner, ATI’s Senior Director of Litigation and a man well know to many of us as a climate skeptic notes,

“This is a matter of significant public interest, as Mr. Gingrich’s views and past activism on the ‘climate’ issue receive scrutiny by voters seeking to assess his judgment and compatibility with their views,”

We had been led to believe by Gingrich that his intellectual flirtation with the perils of global warming was 1990's event from which he had progressed into a more lucid assessment of climate reality especially in light of Climategates 1 and 2. From Anthony Watts:

Hayhoe, who preaches that human activity is destroying the climate and that Christian stewardship compels acceptance of the ‘climate’ agenda, had been publicly identified as a contributor to Gingrich’s forthcoming book “Environmental Entrepreneurs.” Hayhoe had gained notoriety for urging evangelical Christians into supporting the controversial, costly and according to all computer models, climatically meaningless ‘climate’ agenda. News outlets now report that Gingrich, under fire for his left-of-center views on the environment from presidential competitors and Tea Party activists, quickly deep-sixed Hayhoe’s chapter last week.

“Nice to hear that Gingrich is tossing my #climate chapter in the trash. 100+ unpaid hrs I cd’ve spent playing w my baby,” Hayhoe posted on her Twitter account Dec. 30.

We won't know the extent of Gingrich's involvement with Hayhoe until the FOIA request is met but the fact that Hayhoe is Tweeting about the arrangement certainly raises suspicion and in my mind confirms my mistrust of Gingrich.