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By announcing that his administration will tackle climate change by curbing power plant emissions, Barack Obama isn’t just waging a war on coal. He’s waging a war on the United States of freakin’ America.

We know that because Republicans told us so.

From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

Leading Republicans were using phrases like “anti-American” and “war on American energy” to describe President Obama’s new plan to combat climate change, escalating the rhetoric even before the President’s Georgetown University speech outlining his program. Help Grist raise $20,000 by 9/30. Just click the image above ☝️ “President Obama’s anti-American energy plan will increase the price of energy and hurt job creation,” Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., tweeted. Bachmann is a longtime climate change denier who has defended the presence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

And it isn’t just Republicans. Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin — he of the notorious shoot-the-cap-and-trade-bill ad — is also escalating the martial rhetoric. (As it happens, Manchin has earned millions from a coal brokerage he used to help run, and coal-dependent energy companies are among his biggest campaign contributors.) From Climate Progress:

Manchin (D-WV) went on Fox News on Wednesday to slam President Obama’s renewed push to take action on climate change. However, returning to the refrain that Obama has declared a “war on coal” appears not to be enough this time. Now, the coal-backed senator has upgraded his rhetoric to a “war on America.” … STEVE DOOCY (HOST): The President of the United States declared a war on coal and a war on jobs and essentially a war on West Virginia. MANCHIN: Well, really a war on America.

Obviously, the president is not waging a war on his own country. He’s taking steps to address a global environmental calamity, steps that are in fact likely to boost America’s economy.

So why would Obama’s critics be saying such extreme things? Perhaps because their “war on coal” rhetoric isn’t resonating with Americans, so they think they need to take it up a notch.