Conservatives should take the same approach to the politics of the Paris Accord that Liberals always take to reforming Social Security/Medicare.

Ask them:

• Why do you hate poor people?
• Do you really want to make a single mother working two jobs pay double or triple for her energy bills when she can’t even afford to put food on the table?

Make them explain:

• Why do you hate working men and women?
• Why do you want to ship our jobs overseas to China and India and away from the Midwest?

Corey Lewandowski, President Trump’s former campaign manager, wrote an op-ed for The Hill describing in detail why the Paris Accord is bad news for the United States:

According to a study by The Heritage Foundation released in 2016, if the Obama Paris agreement were to be followed, “there would be 206,104 fewer manufacturing jobs between 2016 and 2040.” Heritage projects a loss of over $2.5 trillion in aggregate loss of gross domestic product by 2035.

The Competitive Enterprise Institute put out a similar report in May of 2017, which found that “the United States cannot comply with the Paris Agreement and pursue a pro-growth energy agenda.” The group concluded that the agreement’s “central goal is to make fossil fuels, America’s most plentiful and affordable energy source, more expensive across the board” and “would destroy U.S. manufacturing’s energy price edge.”

And in a video, PragerU mocks the effectiveness of the Paris Accord and cites data estimating the Paris Accord would cost the United States anywhere between $1 to $2 trillion a year:

The pro-Paris Accord position, which would cost the United States trillions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of jobs, is indefensible politically. Those advocating for it are essentially saying: We, the rich and college-educated, who know so much more than you, are going to make you, the poor, blue collar, working tradesmen and women, pay for this historic shift of American wealth toward China and India via fewer jobs and higher energy prices. We know best. You’re stupid. Also, probably racist.

Good luck making that argument. If Republicans are smart, this issue will be a huge gift in 2018.

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore