D'Amboise's Change of Mind on Changing Climate

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As part of his effort to present himself as the conservative alternative to Olympia Snowe, Scott D’Amboise has trumpeted his opposition to the enactment of a cap-and-trade policy that would aim to fight global warming by putting a price on greenhouse gas emissions. The “News” section of his campaign Web site features a press release from the anti-tax group Americans for Prosperity that praises him for signing a pledge to “oppose legislation relating to climate change that includes a net increase in government revenue,” and he thanked the organization for giving him an opportunity to highlight his opposition to Snowe’s “cap and trade tax hike plan” in a recent Facebook post.

But is D’Amboise’s professed opposition to cap-and-trade consistent?

In a debate with opponent Michael Michaud during his 2006 campaign to represent Maine’s 2nd District in Congress, D’Amboise agreed with Michaud that “action needs to be taken to reverse global warming,” according to the Sun Journal, a Maine newspaper. So has D’Amboise really changed his beliefs on global warming, or is his current stance driven solely by political expediency?

In one of his recent interviews with FrumForum, D’Amboise strongly reaffirmed his current views. “I don’t believe in global warming – I never have,” he said, adding that “I think I was misquoted” in the earlier article. D’Amboise went on to assert that “the idea that this [climate change] is all man-made [has] been made up by the world science groups and they’re ripping the tax payers off.” He also said that he “[would] defund the EPA – I think it’s unconstitutional.”

FrumForum attempted to obtain transcript or video of the 2006 debate in which D’Amboise supposedly endorsed efforts to stop global warming from the Sun Journal and Congressman Michaud’s office, but was unable to do so by the time of posting.