In order to reduce emissions, my next portrait will be painted with natural gas.
In order to reduce emissions, his next portrait will be painted with natural gas. Nagel Photography / Shutterstock

Here are two sentences J.E.B.'s never said before that it's nice to hear him say:

“The climate is changing, and I’m concerned about that.”

“We need to work with the rest of the world to... reduce carbon emissions.”

If you hold that the climate is changing, and if you then say we should work with other countries to reduce carbon emissions, and if by “other countries” everybody knows you mean India and China, then that means you think human activity affects climate change, right?

Look! He’s worrying! Doesn’t he look worried? Why doesn’t he look worried.

According to the Hill, former governor Jeb Bush made these statements to a bunch of egg-munching business people at last Friday's Politics & Eggs, an event based in New Hampshire and organized for presidential hopefuls by the New England Council.

This is a new position for Bush, one that differentiates him from the other Republican candidates. And Bush desperately needs to do some differentiating if he wants to win back ground he's losing to Senator Rubio. Of the rest, Chris Christie is the only other candidate who admits that people should listen when an overwhelming majority of scientists agree on something.

Could it be that Bush wants to wear the green pants in the race toward the primaries? As governor, he did try to protect the Everglades and also kinda sorta shoo away oil drilling off the coast of Florida. That speaks to a shred of environmental awareness, right?

Maybe, but his plan to reduce carbon emissions doesn’t seem very nature-friendly. In his remarks last Friday, Bush claims we must continue our “energy revolution,” which for him means relying more heavily on fossil fuels by fracking the hell out of the country. You might wonder if Bush stands to gain financially from fracking. You would not be alone. The Tampa Bay Times alleges that, in fact, he does.

If he runs with this newfound "concerned" stance toward climate change, though, Bush would align his values with those of the majority of voters, most of whom now finally believe that it's real, and stand out as a slightly less delusional figure in the mega-delusional Republican pile.