For Immediate Release:
August 4, 2020
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jason Lewis’ rigid, anti-environmental ideology would harm Minnesota’s farmers, agriculture and natural treasures.
Lewis is a climate change denier, calling it a “theory whose fundamental premise looks weaker every day.” Minnesota farmers know climate change is real–as Sen. Smith says, all they have to do is look at their rain-soaked fields and extreme weather patterns.
Lewis is even opposed to supporting wind and solar energy–which has helped greater Minnesota significantly.
FACT: JASON LEWIS’ DENIAL OF CLIMATE CHANGE WILL BE DAMAGING TO MINNESOTA FARMERS
Lewis: “Global Warming [Was A] Theory Whose Fundamental Premise Looks Weaker Every Day.” “Here in Minnesota, electric bills are already starting to reflect a brave new world powered by wind turbines and solar panels (anything except nuclear — especially after Japan). Under ‘next-generation energy’ legislation passed in 2007, the state’s largest utility, Xcel Energy, is busy touting its green credentials as it struggles to comply with a 30 percent mandate for expensive renewable power by 2020. All in the name of a global warming theory whose fundamental premise looks weaker every day.” [Star Tribune, Jason Lewis, 3/19/11]
Lewis Cited Cold Temperatures As Evidence That Global Warming Was Not Real. “Across the globe, the last few winters have been exceedingly harsh. China has endured its most severe winter in 100 years, snow has fallen in Baghdad, and the United Kingdom just suffered through its coldest December since 1683, according to figures from the Met Office. British astrophysicist David Whitehouse says that not only have temperatures leveled off since 1998, they may actually be cooling once again. Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s so. In 1975, Newsweek cited the scientific consensus (heard that one before?) about the coming danger of global cooling.” [Star Tribune, Jason Lewis, 3/19/11]
Lewis Called For Ending Renewable Energy Subsidies. Jason Lewis Show blog: “Of course, none of this explains why median incomes have fallen or why income inequality has widened during the Obama presidency. All it points out is that it’s not due to tax policy. But if you’re really looking to sock it to the fortunate few, the answer is not to regulate or tax them–it is to quit subsidizing them. Eliminate corporate bailouts, esp. on Wall Street; end renewable energy subsidies and, yes, farm programs for the well-to-do; stop the export-import bank from being reauthorized and say ‘no’ to Pentagon bloat and to publicly funded stadiums for billionaire owners.” [Jason Lewis Show, SOTU blog post, 1/21/15]
Lewis On The Wind Production Tax Credit: “I Am Vehemently Opposed To That.” During a February 2016 second Congressional District GOP Debate the following interaction occurred, QUESTION: What would be your plan for dealing with on the electrical side of energy production tax credit ITC and regulations that are primarily designed to promote wind, solar and other nonfunctional renewable energy? … LEWIS: “I believe Christy’s question was, ‘How do you feel about the wind production tax credit?’ And the answer is, it was snuck back in, it was set to expire until the budget deal last December, a couple of months ago, and they snuck it back in as another tax extender. I am vehemently opposed to that. We need a level playing field for energy across the board.” [The Uptake GOP MN CD2 Debate, 32:18, 2/12/16]