Meteorologist Dissed On MSNBC For Not Refuting DeMint's Gore Joke

February 10th, 2010 5:45 PM

MSNBC's Contessa Brewer on Wednesday took issue with a meteorologist who wouldn't refute Sen. Jim DeMint's (R-S.C.) joke about snow continuing until Al Gore cries uncle.

After Raphael Miranda told viewers about the blizzard pummeling the East Coast, Brewer for some strange reason brought up DeMint's Twitter comment: "He's basically making this argument against global warming because they've had so much snow in Washington, D.C. Is this, does this have anything to do with global warming?"

When Miranda didn't give the answer Brewer was looking for, she amazingly responded, "You're playing it right down the middle. But I was taught that we're talking about climate change here and more severe weather."

The nerve of this meteorologist to not only play it "right down the middle," but also not give her the answer she wanted (video embedded below the fold with partial transcript, h/t Ed Morrissey):

CONTESSA BREWER: Hey, I've got to ask you. South Carolina Republican Jim DeMint was on Twitter, and using this D.C. snowstorm to make a political jab saying that it provides, well here, here it is. He says, "The snow will continue until Al Gore cries uncle." He's basically making this argument against global warming because they've had so much snow in Washington, D.C. Is this, does this have anything to do with global warming?

RAPHAEL MIRANDA, METEOROLOGIST: Well, it's an interesting point. Global warming skeptics love to say, "Oh, it's snowing. What happened to global warming?" But there is a school of thought that says global warming will provide more moisture to the atmosphere which will allow for bigger snowstorms like this one. So, really it depends on which school of thought you attest to, but it could go either way.

BREWER: You're playing it right down the middle. But I was taught that we're talking about climate change here and more severe weather. So, I'm not sure that a lot of snow refutes all the evidence to the contrary. Raphael, thanks.

Imagine that. SHE was taught!

Doesn't matter that HE'S the meteorologist. She holds a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism.

And therein lies the problem with the media and this issue.

Folks like Brewer have their opinions concerning manmade global warming, and nobody is going to change them...not even a meteorologist on staff.

But it's even worse than that, for we don't know what Miranda's opinion is on climate change. All we know is that he wanted to present both sides.

Shocking that a woman with a degree in journalism would be offended by that.

Or maybe not.