‘The climate has always been changing’: Sarah Palin, climate change denialism, and American conservatism

ABSTRACT

Celebrity politician Sarah Palin diffused climate denialism, while advocating a version of social and political conservatism. This article scrutinises her rhetoric and argues that she crafted and performed a brand or ethos that resonated with common-sense conservatism, while at the same time reinforcing and popularising this doctrine. The article discerns the epistemological and ontological premises of Palin’s ideological position and probes how she used her image as an anti-intellectual, frontier individual to speak common sense and to advocate free-market ideology and climate denialism. The article, then, contributes to our understanding of how celebrity politicians craft and use ethos to promote anti-environmental agendas and ideological positions. It also highlights the embeddedness of climate denialism in the political conviction that Palin espoused.

KEYWORDS:

• Climate denialism
• conservatism
• common sense
• ethos
• rhetoric
• celebrity politics

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Alan Finlayson, Katerina Vrablikova, and Jen Thompson for their comments on earlier versions of this article. She is also grateful to the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive and encouraging comments that improved significantly the quality of the article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. ‘Scepticism’, ‘denialism,” and ‘contrarianism’ are used by scholars to characterise the stream of thought that denies the authenticity of environmental problems, typically by rejecting climate science and opposing environmental regulation policies, see Jacques (2006, 2008). I have opted for the terms ‘deniers’ and ‘denialism’ rather than ‘sceptics’ and ‘scepticism’. This is because ‘scepticism’ denotes a careful, balanced cross-examination of evidence and facts and is indeed an inherent trait of science. In contrast, and especially in view of the indisputable scientific consensus on the reality, causes, and impact of anthropogenic climate change, attempts to discredit the authority of the scientific enterprise are malicious and toxic. See Dunlap (2013).

2. The George W. Bush administration (2001–2008) pursued anti-regulation policies. With the election of Donald Trump denialism returned to the White House; his cabinet included well-known climate deniers Scott Pruitt (Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency), Ryan Zinke (Secretary of the Interior), and Rex Tillerson (Secretary of State).

3. Melling (2013) observes that Palin’s hometown, which she served as a councillor and mayor, is not a small town, but an exurb, part of a larger metropolitan network. However, by using a broad and fairly abstract definition of ‘small town’ that could encompass farming and factory towns, Palin addressed those who are attracted to the idea of the idyllic small-town experience.

4. The production of the film was funded by the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, a non-profit organisation associated with ‘the denial machine’ and fossil fuel industry.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Leverhulme Trust under the Early Career Fellowship Scheme [ECF 2016-230].

Notes on contributors

Sophia Hatzisavvidou

Sophia Hatzisavvidou is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Politics at the University of Bath. She researches and teaches on ecological politics, political ideologies, and political theory.