Graham Throws ‘Not A Scientist’ Line Back At GOP Climate Change Deniers

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Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) took a shot at Republican climate change deniers Tuesday, throwing the “I’m not a scientist” line back at those in his own party who he said stubbornly refuse to believe scientists.

“Late Night” host Seth Meyers asked Graham, who has previously urged his GOP colleagues to break from the party on environmental issues, if he’s “surprised” to find so many climate change deniers in the party’s ranks.

“Well I’m not a scientist,” Graham responded. “but here’s the problem I’ve got with some people in my party: When you ask the scientists what’s going on, why don’t you believe them? If I went to 10 doctors and nine said, ‘Hey, you’re gonna die,’ and one says ‘You’re fine,’ why would I believe the one guy?”

The “doctor” line is one Graham has used often, and he’s been one of the most outspoken 2016 Republican candidates on the issue. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), former Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX), and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) each have climate denialism on the books, while Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI), former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL) have tried to avoid talking about climate change altogether.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is the lone candidate who’s been unequivocal on climate. Christie told reporters in May: “I think global warming is real. I don’t think that’s deniable.”

Graham also offered some dry answers to Meyers’ prodding about Donald Trump, saying that he would make Republicans in Congress “step up to the plate” on immigration, where Obama has “failed miserably.”

Watch the full clip below, via Late Night:

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Notable Replies

  1. Actually it’d be more like 97 out of 100 doctors… I’m surprised at ol’ Lindsey for being not so dumb for a change.

  2. Avatar for tao tao says:

    The same guys are not engineers so they let their constituents continue to drive over rusted out bridges. They aren’t doctors but they presume to know better than doctors and their patients’ needs. Their ignorance extends to any conflict their dogma has with reality. It is not imaginative, but even the Gohmert level Einsteins have been able to repeat it well enough to get by.
    And yeah even the room temperature IQ congress critters have bunches of staffers able to analyze technical publications and prepare executive summaries. All they have to do is ask. Good luck with that.

  3. LOL. You picked that photo because of how prissy he looks in it, didn’t you TPM? Don’t worry…we’ll keep it on the down-low…

  4. “Well I’m not a scientist,” Graham responded. “but here’s the problem
    I’ve got with some people in my party: When you ask the scientists
    what’s going on, why don’t you believe them? If I went to 10 doctors and
    nine said, ‘Hey, you’re gonna die,’ and one says ‘You’re fine,’ why
    would I believe the one guy?”

    C’mon Lindsey, it’s called DENIAL. And it’s a core value of your party.
    You cannot fix stupid when the fixee refuses to learn from the evidence before their eyes. It should not take rocket science to see that glaciers are melting, that the planet’s average temperature has risen steadily over the last 150 years which happens to coincide with the industrial revolution and the use of petroleum. And throw in a huge increase in the number of people on Earth.

    YOU CAN’T FIX STUPID IF STUPID REFUSES TO LEARN.

  5. "Graham also offered some dry answers to Meyers’ prodding about Donald Trump, saying that he would make Republicans in Congress “step up to the plate” on immigration, where Obama has “failed miserably.”

    He makes it sound like Obama is to blame for the GOP being so racist they wanted the entire country to fail so they could blame it on the black man. The GOP promised on day one that they would do NOTHING and that is what they did.

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