When it comes to exploiting tragedies for political gain, Democrats regularly teach master classes. They do it with statements from ideologically-aligned politicians, social media posts, and legacy media reports. Be it a strong hurricane that developed in the future “Gulf of America,” a global pandemic, or devastating wildfires in California, Democrats regularly capitalize on these events to make it about their political agendas, and they have been doing so for quite some time.
“You never want a serious crisis to go to waste,” former Democratic congressman Rahm Emanuel once said. “And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before.”
It’s a quote that Democrats have come to live by. The sentiment was embraced by Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) in 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is a tremendous opportunity to restructure things to fit our vision,” Clyburn said at the time.
It should come as no surprise then that Democrats are doing the very same thing with the tragic, devastating, and destructive wildfires in Southern California. Instead of empathy, many on the Left are using it to advance climate change alarmism and hysteria. It’s par for the course when it comes to their tenacity for political exploitation. Despite no current concrete evidence that so-called climate change is responsible for the wildfires — as one of the fires is currently being investigated as arson — numerous ideologues and devoted hysterics advanced this narrative anyway.
Consider staunch climate change supporter, former secretary of labor, and left-wing political commentator Robert Reich, whose X account has been a steady stream of climate change propaganda since the wildfires started. For example, in a recent post, Reich suggested that “longer dry seasons and more intense wildfires are a direct consequence of the climate crisis.” Inexplicably, he then blamed the “fossil fuel industry.”
“We must stop putting fossil fuel industry profits over the safety and security of our people,” he said.
First, Reich provides little, if any, proof to support his claims. He just makes blanket accusations and assessments without any legitimate data to support it. For most people who lament climate change, this is the way.
This is the same fossil fuel industry, mind you, that he has regularly used to travel for decades and that he uses to get from one lucrative speaking engagement to another. In those instances, it appears Reich believes planes, trains, and automobiles can use as much fossil fuels as necessary.
Next, climate change supporters are known by normal people for their inaccuracies and inconsistencies when trying to make their points to persuade people. In the past, they have regularly promoted ideas of impending gloom and doom only to be proven hilariously incorrect. They also have a habit of repeating dishonest, sensationalist claims to advance their agenda.
For example, in 2008, former Vice President Al Gore infamously suggested that “the entire North polar ice cap may well be completely gone in 5 years.” Yet, it is 2025, and the north polar ice cap still exists and is not in any jeopardy of disappearing anytime soon.
Who could forget the situation in Glacier National Park, where signs were posted in the 2000s warning that a warming planet and climate change would cause the glaciers to disappear by 2020? This was so embarrassingly wrong that park officials were forced to remove the signs throughout the park because the climate change experts were, once again, wrong. Moreover, it is January 2025, and the glaciers are in no imminent danger of melting away.
However, this is the way. They talk first and worry about being honest and correct later. Climate change enthusiasts frequently make a claim and then try to change it when it is disproven or does not come true. The sloppiness and untrustworthy assertions are core tenets of climate change acolytes. Reich is no exception.
In two successive posts on X, Reich contradicted himself about California’s weather. It wasn’t the biggest contradiction in history, but a contradiction nevertheless and indicative of the carelessness with which the climate change cadre operates. In Reich’s first post, he included an article saying Los Angeles experienced the “driest start to a water year on record.” Less than three hours later, he made another post, saying Los Angeles is in the midst of the “second-driest period on record.”
Again, differentiating between driest and second-driest is not the biggest sin. However, when climate change advocates constantly make inconsistent assertions, claims, and predictions, it should result in much skepticism about what they are saying and their credibility should undoubtedly be questioned.
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Unfortunately, with the tragic wildfires, it is business as usual for climate change alarmists. As fires destroy people’s possessions, Democrats and others on the Left persist with fearmongering and doomsday prognostications. They prey on the emotions in tragedies to advance political narratives and agendas.
After one of the most devastating and destructive wildfires in history, it is time we, as a people, tell the climate change brigade to stop the dishonesty and exploitative rhetoric. It is time we ignore their hysterics and falsehoods and realize their sole objective is persuasion and compliance with their ideologies.