"You defy every tenet of democracy"

You defy every tenet of democracy when you invite ExxonMobil to deny itself the right to provide information to “senior elected and appointed government officials” who disagree with your opinion.

That is what British Lord Monckton, Viscount of Brenchley, wrote to U. S. Senators Olympia Snowe and Jay Rockefeller in response to their veiled threat to ExxonMobil. Our Congresscritters had, essentially, told ExxonMobil to shut up and stop funding research that might cast doubt on global warming. Here are a few of the absolutely choice things Lord Monckton had to say:

Sceptics and those who have the courage to support them are actually helpful in getting the science right. They do not, as you improperly suggest, “obfuscate” the issue: they assist in clarifying it by challenging weaknesses in the “consensus” argument, and they compel necessary corrections…

You acknowledge the effectiveness of the climate sceptics. In so doing, you pay a compliment to the courage of those free-thinking scientists who continue to research climate change independently despite the likelihood of refusal of publication in journals that have taken preconceived positions; the hate mail and vilification from ignorant environmentalists; and the threat of loss of tenure in institutions of learning which no longer make any pretence to uphold or cherish academic freedom.

Anyone who believes in the supposed “consensus” on climate change and yet is not willing to countenance the immediate reintroduction and widespread development of nuclear energy as the most important and essential mitigative measure available to us cannot expect to be taken seriously.

Your comparison of Exxon's funding of sceptical scientists and groups with the former antics of the tobacco industry is unjustifiable and unworthy of any credible elected representatives. Either withdraw that monstrous comparison forthwith, or resign so as not to pollute the office you hold.

I challenge you to withdraw or resign because your letter is the latest in what appears to be an internationally-coordinated series of maladroit and malevolent attempts to silence the voices of scientists and others…

It takes a Brit to put American politicians in their place.