Andrews echoed distorted claim that Bill Clinton said, "We just have to slow down our economy" to stop global warming

Summary: John Andrews repeated a false claim when he declared on his February 10 Backbone Radio broadcast that former President Bill Clinton stated in a Denver speech that to fight global warming, "[w]e just have to slow down our economy." As Colorado Media Matters previously noted when other radio hosts made the same distortion regarding Clinton's January 30 speech, his full quotes stated that the "only way" to fight climate change is "to prove it is good economics" to build "a sustainable economy that saves the planet for our children and grandchildren."

On the February 10 broadcast of KNUS 710 AM's Backbone Radio, host John Andrews echoed the conservative distortion that, during a January 30 campaign speech in Denver, former President Bill Clinton stated: "We just have to slow down our economy" to fight global warming. In fact, as Media Matters for America has noted (here and here), after stating that "rich" countries could take that approach, Clinton next said why he thought it wouldn't work, asserting that the "only way" to fight global warming is to prove that doing so "is good economics that we will create more jobs to build a sustainable economy."

Andrews' assertion echoed similar claims made by Fox News Radio 600 KCOL's Scott James and Newsradio 850 KOA's Mike Rosen during their January 31 and February 1 broadcasts, respectively, as Colorado Media Matters has noted, after Clinton spoke at the University of Denver at a rally for his wife, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (NY).

From the February 10 broadcast of KNUS 710 AM's Backbone Radio:

ANDREWS: I didn't see it here in Colorado, but I bet there was a media buy for it here in Colorado. The presidential campaign of Senator Hillary Clinton was running a TV ad calling her, quote, the person you can depend on to fix the economy and protect our future." And yet -- and yet -- campaigning right here in Denver a few days before Super Tuesday, the former president and future first man, if they get their way, Bill Clinton, said in a Denver speech that combating global warming is so important that, quote, according to Bill Clinton, "We just have to slow down our economy and cut back our greenhouse gas emissions because we have to save the planet for our grandchildren."

Interesting contrast between Hillary's claim in an ad that she's the person we can depend on to fix the economy, and Bill's candid claim in a Denver speech that "[w]e need to slow down our economy in order to cut back greenhouse gas emissions." Well, the Republican National Committee wasn't slow to pick up on the contrast, according to an ABC News.com posting. The RNC had this to say: "Senator Clinton's campaign now says we must slow down the economy to stop global warming. Clinton needs to come back to Earth," the RNC continued. "Her tax-it, spend-it, regulate-it attitude will really bring the economy crashing down." This from the Republican National Committee.

As Media Matters noted, ABC News senior national correspondent Jake Tapper distorted Clinton's statement in a January 31 post on his ABCNews.com blog, Political Punch, titled, "Bill: 'We Just Have to Slow Down Our Economy' to Fight Global Warming." (Tapper has since changed the title of his post to read: "What Did Bill Clinton Mean By 'We Just Have to Slow Down Our Economy' to Fight Global Warming?") Andrews did not provide Clinton's full quote, which Tapper included toward the end of his post. The full quote makes clear that Clinton did not say "we just need to slow" the economy. Rather, he asserted that the "only way" to fight global warming is to prove that it "is good economics" to "create more jobs to build a sustainable economy":

CLINTON: And maybe America, and Europe, and Japan, and Canada -- the rich counties [sic] -- would say, "OK, we just have to slow down our economy and cut back our greenhouse gas emissions 'cause we have to save the planet for our grandchildren." We could do that. But if we did that, you know as well as I do, China and India and Indonesia and Vietnam and Mexico and Brazil and the Ukraine, and all the other countries will never agree to stay poor to save the planet for our grandchildren. The only way we can do this is if we get back in the world's fight against global warming and prove it is good economics that we will create more jobs to build a sustainable economy that saves the planet for our children and grandchildren. It is the only way it will work.

And guess what? The only places in the world today in rich countries where you have rising wages and declining inequality are places that have generated more jobs than rich countries because they made a commitment we didn't. They got serious about a clean, efficient, green, independent energy future... If you want that in America, if you want the millions of jobs that will come from it, if you would like to see a new energy trust fund to finance solar energy and wind energy and biomass and responsible bio-fuels and electric hybrid plug-in vehicles that will soon get 100 miles a gallon, if you want every facility in this country to be made maximally energy efficient that will create millions and millions and millions of jobs, vote for her. She'll give it to you. She's got the right energy plan.

As Media Matters noted, the Drudge Report linked to Tapper's post under the similar headline, "Bill Clinton: 'We Just Have to Slow Down Our Economy' to Fight Global Warming ..." The conservative website WorldNet Daily also linked to Tapper's post under the headline "Bill Clinton urges slowing economy to fight 'warming'":

The Republican National Committee, as quoted by Andrews, further mischaracterized the former president's comments. In an "Update" to his post, Tapper quoted the following statement from RNC spokesman Alex Conant: "Senator Clinton's campaign now says we must 'slow down the economy' to stop global warming. ... Clinton needs to come back to Earth. Her 'tax-it, spend-it, regulate-it' attitude would really bring the economy crashing down. No amount of special effects will hide Clinton's liberal record."

Sen. Clinton's campaign responded to Tapper's post by writing that Tapper "parsed President Clinton's speech," adding, "Actually the full quote shows that President Clinton was making the opposite point. He rejected slowing down the economy, and advocated for sustainable economic growth."

—C.H.