Maureen Groppe

mgroppe@gannett.com

Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" went after U.S. Rep. Larry Bucshon of Indiana and other GOP members of the House science committee Monday night, mocking comments they made at a hearing last week on the president's proposal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.

Saying the committee is the only place where global climate change is not an accepted scientific phenomenon, Stewart highlighted Bucshon's exchange with John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

When Holdren told Bucshon that he should look at the scientific literature, the Newburgh Republican replied: "Of all the climatologists whose careers depend on the climate changing to keep themselves publishing articles — yes, I could read that, but I don't believe it."

Stewart said Bucshon's comment meant that he doesn't believe scientists, "because it is their profession, not their hobby."

Bucshon spokesman Nick McGee responded that the "The Daily Show" is "an entertainment show played on a comedy network with a practice of cherry picking quotes out of context to further the comedic narrative."

"In that context, Dr. Bucshon thought the segment was funny as he does most political comedy," McGee said. "However, it is unfortunate they didn't show Dr. Bucshon's request that the EPA come to Southwest Indiana to discuss these new regulations with Hoosiers."

While Bucshon believes the earth's climate is changing, he has said the change has been minimally affected by human activities.

Bucshon represents southwestern Indiana, where most of the state's coal has come from. He said at the hearing that the proposed greenhouse gas regulations don't make economic sense for Indiana.

Stewart also pointed in the segment to some of Bucshon's top campaign contributors for his 2014 re-election.

"Since we're talking about the influence money might have on climate change opinion, it turns out Rep. Bucshon's three biggest campaign donors are Murray Energy, Koch Enterprises, and Peabody Energy," Stewart said. "And trust me those three well-funded companies would love to disprove climate change to the satisfaction of the scientific community at large. So if scientists could be bought, these (expletives) would have already made it rain in nerdtown."

Stewart's figures came from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

But Stewart appears to have been confusing the Evansville-based Koch Enterprises with Koch Industries, a conglomerate that includes oil refineries and is owned by Charles and David Koch who have opposed any tax or price on carbon.

Koch Enterprises, by contrast, is a privately held corporation operating subsidies in automobile parts manufacturing, wholesale distribution, metals recycling and equipment design and construction.

View Daily Show segment.