Global Warming Deniers' Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Election Day 2008 will be remembered for being a lousy day to be a global warming denier.Nowhere was this more apparent than right here in Virginia:

Jim Gilmore: Told the Virginian-Pilot, "We know the climate is changing, but we do not know for sure how much is caused by man and how much is part of a natural cycle change." Lost by 30 points.

Thelma Drake: Told the Virginian-Pilot, "There is tremendous disagreement about whether climate change is caused by human behavior or other natural forces." Despite final pre-election predictions she'd win by six points, Thelma instead lost by 4 points.

Virgil Goode: Told WSLS-TV global warming is "overly hyped" and holds a strong financial stake in Big Oil. Despite final pre-election predictions he'd win by eight points, Virgil is currently losing by 100 votes.

And look just east to Maryland's 1st Congressional district, which Republican Wayne Gilchrest had represented for 16 years before losing his primary to hardcore conservative Andy Harris. The moderate Gilchrest had cruised to re-election in the slightly red district, getting at least 61 percent of the vote in his last seven races.

But general election voters took one look at Harris' 9 percent lifetime voting record from Environment America record and turned their noses up. Democrat Frank Kratovil is currently beating Harris by just over 900 votes.

And look across the country. In the House, longtime clean energy opponents Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) and Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO) went down, while Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) narrowly survived a surprisingly close race in a deep red district.

In the Senate, Sen. John Sununu (R-NH) and Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR), who each only found religion on climate action on their electoral deathbeds, lost their re-election bids. On the other hand, Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN), a more vigorous supporter of clean energy and climate action, has so far been able to cling to a slim lead in his race against Al Franken.

The bottom line? If you expect to hold public office in America today, you better be on board with clean energy. It's about American jobs, it's about lowering energy bills for consumers, and yes, it's about curbing the worst effects of global warming. If you don't buy in, you better hope you're lucky enough to be in a district as conservative as Michele Bachmann's.

But hey, if you want to roll those dice like Andy Harris did, be my guest. Good luck with that recount, Andy! You'll need it.