Is it possible that Republicans and Democrats no longer know what to make of Richard Muller, the Berkelely professor, who reportedly did an about-face on the issue of climate change?
We noted last week that prior to a March 31 congressional hearing on global warming, Muller had been treated as a hero by conservative organizations for his skepticism of global warming. He had been roundly denounced by liberal organizations for the same reason.
But then Muller appeared before the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology on March 31 and announced that preliminary results from his Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature Project supported a global warming trend.
Since then, liberal commentator Joseph Romm of the Center for American Progress, who had called Muller an author of "debunked books" and a "liar" as late as four days before the March 31 hearing, seems to have had nothing further to say about him.
And conservative commentator Conn Carroll of the Heritage Foundation was blogging as late as March 17 that Muller had exposed left-wing "duplicity" on climate change by the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration. Carroll too does not appear to have had anything further to say about Muller since March 31.
In fact, a Google search of "Richard Muller" and "climate change" over the last month turns up relatively little after the March 31 hearing. It all may go to show that once you depart from your political script, even on scientific issues, people are no longer going to be quite as interested in what you have to say.
David Kassel
Accountable Strategies Consulting
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