CLINTON PRAISES LOWENTHAL, JABS DELONG FOR QUESTIONING ‘SCIENCE OF CLIMATE CHANGE’
By LBReport.com
IRVINE — Former President Bill Clinton urged voters at a rally at UCI Tuesday night to elect five Southern California Democrats to Congress, among them state Sen. Alan Lowenthal, whom the former president praised for his work on clean air at the Ports.
Lowenthal was on stage throughout the former President’s speech, and at several applause points Lowenthal raised his arms in a victory sign. UCI’s Bren Events Center, which has a capacity of 4,984 seats, was nearly full for the event. Aside from Lowenthal, Clinton’s endorsements extended to Democratic Congressional candidates Julia Brownley (Ventura), Gary Peters (San Diego), Raul Ruiz (Palm Springs) and Mark Takano (Riverside)
[Watch LBReport's video footage of Clinton's and Lowenthal's remarks.]
Clinton urged support for five Democratic Congressional candidates and took jabs at their opponents. The former president said Lowenthal had not only chaired the state Senate’s Education Committee but had also “helped to make the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles one of the cleanest and greenest in the entire world and proved it’s good economics.”
Clinton’s jab at Lowenthal’s opponent focused on Long Beach Councilman Gary DeLong — without mentioning his name — having “questioned the science of climate change.” He called this “a very big deal,” saying there’s “no other country in the world with a major political party that denies the reality of climate change.”
After a lengthy discussion of a prominent scientist who began as a climate change skeptic but has since reversed his view, Clinton said Lowenthal would “wave the port of Long Beach and Los Angeles like a flag in Congress until they do something serious about climate change.”
Clinton also urged a “yes” vote on Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax increase measure (Prop 30) and a “no” vote on Prop 32, which would reduce the political power of organized labor in the state.
In urging voters to elect Dems to Congress, the former President said Repubs would threaten the middle class, women’s rights and the environment, saying it’s important to “turn back the reactionary tide.”
