Last month Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (CA-46) made news of the silly sort when he stood on the floor of the House of Representatives and gave a speech ascribing global climate change to ”dinosaur flatulence.”

In comments broadcast on C-SPAN television last week, Rohrabacher suggested that "dinosaur flatulence" may have been responsible for past swings in global temperatures, and that the enormous growth in atmospheric carbon dioxide in the past century -- and increased global temperatures -- are not man-caused.

Rohrabacher's claim puts him at odds with many in his own party, including President George W. Bush, whose White House acknowledged man-made global warming this year.

Of course, after his comments turned him into a media laughingstock, Rohrabacher tried to walk back from his statement claiming it was all a big joke.  But it’s hard to figure out what’s more offensive, treating the challenges presented by global climate change as a joke or being massively ill-informed about the major perils that face our planet in the coming years.

Of course, Rohrabacher’s buffoonery and willful ignorance of the issues surrounding global climate change stand in stark contrast to the obvious intelligence and sober good judgment that his Democratic opponent Debbie Cook (Mayor, Huntington Beach) brings to the table.  As a recognized expert in energy and transportation policy, Cook is a passionate advocate for renewable energy.  Instead of sticking her head in the sand and indulging in denial, Cook is working to find smart and creative solutions to the very real problems that we face in California and, indeed, nationwide.

And Debbie Cook’s message of responsible stewardship is resonating in her district.  Dana Rohrabacher may be an ten-term incumbent who hasn’t had to work for re-election in a very long time, but this year, change is in the air.  The Cook Political Report has changed the rating for the district from “Solid Republican” to “Likely Republican.”  Cook has raised more campaign money than Rohrabacher for two consecutive quarters.  And with a Republican PVI of +6, there are some people who see strong comparisons between the CA-46 race and the 2006 race in CA-11 between Jerry McNerney and Richard Pombo.  CA-11 also had a +6 PVI, and at this time in the campaign cycle also was being upgraded from “Solid Republican” to “Likely Republican.”

As a matter of fact, in a conversation today at Netroots Nation with A.J. Carrillo, the campaign manager who engineered McNerney’s successful 2006 Congressional campaign, Carrillo took the comparison even further:

”I met Debbie Cook for the first time today. I’ve read a lot about her, and I was just blown away by her as a candidate. She brings a lot to the table, and I think if any seat in California is going to flip, this is the one. There are a lot of parallels to the McNerney race, plus she’s an excellent candidate.”

Today we caught up with Debbie Cook at Netroots Nation and recorded this message to the netroots:

 

You can find more information about Debbie Cook at DebbieCookForCongress.com.