Political Quotes

On the recordJuly 12, 2016
I hate conspiracy theories. I believe most of the suspicious, confusing, frustrating, or unknowable things in the world are the way they are not because there are 12 people in a room wringing their hands trying to figure out how to trick all of us but because the world is complicated, often unfair, sometimes illogical, and we all operate with incomplete information. So even as a climate hawk, I came to the idea of an organized misinformation campaign with real hesitation. I didn't want to be that guy who believes there is an evil empire that lies for a living. But here is the thing: I have studied this, and I have learned that there really is an organized, well-financed disinformation and misinformation campaign on the subject of climate change. It is straight out of a bad movie about politics, complete with PR guys, dark campaign money, fake scientists, politicians in the mix, and a weakened media. It is like Raymond Tusk actually exists. I rise today to join my colleagues in combating a pervasive and highly damaging campaign of misinformation, disinformation, and outright lies. For decades, the same hired guns that tried to convince the American people that there was no link between smoking and lung cancer have been following the same playbook on manmade climate change. They want to sow doubt where no doubt exists.…
Said by
Brian Schatz
Democratic · Hawaii

Share

More from Brian Schatz

Jun 24, 2026

I always appreciate the chance to hear directly from people across Hawai‘i about their priorities and concerns.

schatz.senate.gov
Jun 24, 2026

The UK is the latest example of a country stepping up to protect kids online.

schatz.senate.gov
Jun 24, 2026

This is a priority for one person and one person only.

schatz.senate.gov
Jun 24, 2026

Mahalo to everyone who joined us today for a productive conversation.

schatz.senate.gov

Other voices in this conversation