Jerry Brown Blames Trump, GOP for California Fires: 'Blood is on Your Soul'
Former CA governor attacks Republicans over wildfires while speaking to Congress
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Former California Governor Jerry Brown blamed California’s wildfires on President Donald Trump and the Republicans while speaking to Congress on Tuesday.
Brown blasted the GOP and Trump administration, accusing them of being “flat Earth” science deniers, declaring "the blood is on your soul."
Brown defended California’s efforts to set higher fuel economy standards in the face of Trump’s moves to rollback such rules nationally.
“California’s burning while the deniers make a joke out of the standards that protect us all,” Brown said.
“The blood is on your soul here and I hope you wake up. Because this is not politics, this is life, this is morality. … This is real.”
In 2018, Brown made similar claims about the cause of the devastating fires, saying:
“Managing the forests in every way we can does not stop climate change, and those who deny that are definitely contributing to the tragedies that we’re now witnessing and will continue to witness in the coming years."
“The chickens are coming home to roost. This is real here,” Brown said before saying he wanted people to “pull together” to tackle the problem.
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According to Breitbart, Brown was testifying against efforts by the Trump administration to rescind California’s waiver that previously allowed it to set its own emissions standards for vehicles — effectively giving the state control of the entire auto industry.
The administration argues that California’s policy is actually worse for the environment because higher standards make new cars — which are more energy-efficient than old cars — more difficult for consumers to buy.
The ongoing California wildfires have a variety of causes.
The immediate cause of the Getty Fire in Los Angeles, for example, appears to be a tree branch that was blown by high winds into power lines, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Critics fault California and its utility companies for spending money on complying with “green” initiatives rather than on burying power lines.
Others also cite homeless camps, where past fires have started, and poor forestry management policies that have barred the clearing of brush that can provide fuel for wildfires.
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But Brown and other Democrats have identified climate change as the culprit, even though there is no scientific evidence to support that claim.
In 2015 and in 2017, Brown also blamed climate change for wildfires in California, though scientists disagreed, calling Brown’s arguments an example of “noble-cause corruption.”
California Democrats are facing new criticism at home, as utility companies have begun cutting power to electricity customers in peak fire conditions — a new practice for which the state government seems to have been unprepared.
