FYI, I don’t consider myself a Republican. I’m most likely
a Libertarian if I understand things correctly. Here’s
my take, as cynically as this sounds. Politics is a pretty
cynical business after all, though:

Global warming is to Democrats what national defense is
to Republicans. GWB won in ’04 because the GOP convinced
voters that they faced an imminent threat that Democrats
didn’t fully appreciate. Democrats know they need a platform
that is more than old fashioned Great Society programs.
Universal healthcare is a yawner for many. While Old Environmentalism
to many meant designating crosswalks for grass snakes
and pissing off cattle ranchers, New Environmentalism
is, quite literally, a Hollywood movie. It has urgency,
it’s life & death, it’s a call to arms. It’s the one issue
they can call their own that might have traction that
transcends party affiliation. After all, no one in Peoria
wants to drown in their beds when the Atlantic or Pacific
comes knocking at their front door. Republicans have been
rolling their eyes at “tree huggers” for years and just
when you think you’ve seen it all, it’s been reinvented
into something politically formidable. Democrats may be
perennial losers on national defense but, no matter, they
own the environment and, hey, it’s about winning. They
worked their ass of going into ’04 and gained less electoral
and popular votes than ‘00. The difference? Though I voted
for Gore, in hindsight both candidates were equally lame.
The difference was Republicans had the Global War On Terror
and Democrats had, um..…They need to change things up,
big time.