Today we’d like to introduce you to Bob Inglis.
Hi Bob, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
For my first six years in Congress (1993-1999), I said climate change was nonsense. Since I represented a very conservative district in SC, I figured, “Al Gore’s for it; I’m against it.” OK, I admit that’s pretty ignorant, but that’s the way it was for my first six years in Congress.
From 1999 to 2004, I was out of Congress, practicing commercial real estate law again in Greenville, SC.
In 2004, I had the opportunity to run for the same seat again. That was the year that our son, the eldest of our five kids, had just turned 18, so he was voting for the first time. He came to me and said, “Dad, I’ll vote for you, but you’re going to clean up your act on the environment.” His four sisters and his mother (my wife) all agreed. A new constituency was born!
That was Step 1 of a three-step metamorphosis for me.
Step 2 was going to Antarctica with the House Science Committee and seeing the evidence in the ice core drillings.
Step 3 was being on another Science Committee trip to the Great Barrier Reef and getting inspired by the faith of Scott Heron, an Aussie climate scientist. Scott showed me that conservation is about “loving God and loving people.” I got inspired and wanted to be like Scott, loving God and loving people.
It was there that I decided to go forward with a bill that became the “Raise Wages, Cut Carbon Act of 2009”—a revenue-neutral, border-adjustable carbon tax. That bill and some other heresies that I had committed against Tea Party orthodoxy got me tossed out of Congress in a Republican primary in 2010.
As I was leaving Congress a foundation came to me and said, essentially, “You’re an unusual zoo animal: an actual conservative (93 American Conservative Union, 100% Christian Coalition, 100% National Right to Life, “A” with the National Rifle Association) who says climate change is real. Will you speak and write for the proposition?”That’s what I’ve been doing ever since.
It’s now called republicEn.org, a community of around 20,000 people online, calling for conservative leadership on climate. If you’re a conservative who cares about climate, please join us!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road hasn’t been smooth, but it’s been good. That revenue-neutral, border-adjustable carbon tax was the best idea I came across while I was in Congress. It’s not my idea alone; it’s the idea of most economists in the world. Being out of Congress and being able to travel around the country has given me the opportunity to bring some light to fellow conservatives. The dark days of the disputation of the obvious evidence of climate change are largely gone.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We recruit and enroll conservatives who care about climate change. We equip them with content, events and projects that connect them with like-minded folks, forging an effective community for action. Our educational efforts are conducted in their (and our) first language—the language of free enterprise innovation, of global leadership, of personal responsibility, of care for the commons, of equal opportunity and dignity for all races, creeds and sexual/gender identities.
Early in our existence, constituency building on the right was hard. Those were the dark days of the “Decade of Disastrous Disputation” (2008-2018). Constituency-building is getting much easier. Climate impacts have become more obvious. More and more surveys show growing support for climate action, especially among young conservatives. R’s face the imperative of having something to say in the climate conversation.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
The best advice that I could give is to “be about something big enough to be about.” That’s the path to career fulfillment. Start with what you know and who you know and work out from there, joining with others to forge an effective team.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.republicEn.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/republicen
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/republicEn
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/5xh2PFD8hKNNLROEZ6vkwx
Image Credits
The Chautauqua Institute
