Rep. Rohrabacher Given Climate Change Denier 'Award'

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, who represents much of coastal Orange County, was "honored" Tuesday as the recipient of a "Climate Change Denier" award, presented by Organizing for Action (OFA). 

OFA is a civic group that coordinated a "national day of action" to hold climate change skeptics accountable. Rohrabacher was one of 135 congressional members to receive the facetious honor, according to OC Weekly. 

The group put out a statement, which said "Even though 97 percent of scientists agree that climate change is real, many members of Congress, including Rohrabacher continue to deny the problem and/or the science behind it. This award is designed to draw attention to the anti-reality and anti-science position that Rohrabacher and others in Congress have taken."

Rep. Darrell Issa, who represents San Clemente, Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano, Coto de Caza and Ladera Ranch in the 49th District, was also "honored."

An Issa spokesman responded to the award, telling Patch: 

“This political gathering isn’t being done to support science, it is being staged by barackobama.com and is intended to promote President Obama’s radical campaign to raise energy costs that will kill Americans jobs.  President Obama has already told Americans that under his plan, ‘electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket ’ and his first Energy Secretary declared that, ‘we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe.’ 

Rep. Issa has long recognized that our climate is changing – it’s his support for expanding domestic energy production and his steadfast opposition to the President’s radical plans to raise energy costs that are the real issue.

Congressman Issa supports a balanced approach that provides the clean domestic energy America needs without raising our energy rates or putting Americans out of work.” 

Rohrabacher's 49th congressional district encompasses Seal Beach, Sunset Beach, Surfside, Corona del Mar, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, Aliso Viejo, Newport Coast, Newport Beach, Laguna Niguel, Fountain Valley as well as portions of Midway City, Westminster, Santa Ana and Garden Grove.

What do you think of this "honor?" Tell us in the comments.