SHUT UP, THEY EXPLAINED: Reaction To Bret Stephens’ Global Warming Column Shows Left Isn’t Interested In Debate.

David Harsanyi:

For his debut New York Times column, Bret Stephens penned a tepid article in which he made the completely rational suggestion that both sides of the climate-change debate might fare better if they were open to hearing out the opposition’s arguments. Perhaps then, he argues, they could better work toward some sort of solution. It’s the type of platitude the Left is always pretending they want to hear from conservatives.

They don’t. The overwhelming reaction, as usual, was “Burn the witch!” If you challenge climate change alarmism, you’re a denier of science. If you believe Obamacare is flawed policy, you support killing poor Americans. If you support tax cuts, you’re a pawn of the plutocracy. There is a perfunctory reaction for every issue; a prefabricated smear devised just for the occasion. Every one is meant to circumvent debate while imbuing the Left’s position with a (fake) patina of morality and “science.”

Within this world, there’s no space left for any conversation that doesn’t begin with “You’re right. What can I do to help?”

“Thank you, sir. May I have another?” might have been more apt.