Why aren’t conservatives leading conservationists?

Articles — By forcechange on September 4, 2008 5:00 am

Since McCain’s choice of Governor Palin as his running mate, the issue of her policies towards the environment (as well as those of her party in general) have been a topic of hot debate.  This got us wondering why it is that the Republican party is thought of as less friendly towards the environment than the Democrats.  In our searching, we came across this interesting article, written by the generally conservative pundit Andrew Sullivan just a little over two years ago, in 2006.

In the piece, Sullivan contemplates that while conservatives have often pursued anti-green policies, there is nothing inherent in their ideology that should necessitate them being anti-environmentalists.  In fact, he argues, there are many beliefs in the traditional conservative portfolio, such as resistance to change and support for a strong country, that should make them ardent protectors of the environment and loathe to be so dependant on oil. 

However, despite Sullivan’s insightful observations about conservative values and conservationist policies, the reality seems to be that many in the Republican party do not feel the same way as he does about the environment.  Merely watching McCain’s race to the right on the environment, through his now obsessive policies in favor of offshore drilling and lifting the gas tax, as well as his pick of extraction policy proponent, Palin as his running mate, shows that the nation’s conservative core (which McCain is trying to win over) still falls far from the conservationist ideals that Sullivan wishes upon them.

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