Congressman Mike Lee of Utah created a stir on social media with a wild, tongue-in-cheek speech on the Congress floor that included Aquaman, Tauntauns, Ronald Reagan on a velociraptor, and some scenes from the movie Sharknado. Lee’s presentation was to point out his criticism of the Green New Deal which was proposed by rising Democratic star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Part of the Green New Deal suggested that some resolutions to global warming could be banning cow farts and eliminating air travel.
Well, Mike Lee had a few things to say about that.
“Unlike others, I’m not immediately afraid of what the Green New Deal would do to the economy and our government. After all, this isn’t going to pass — not today, not any time soon certainly,” Lee said, as transcribed by the Daily Caller. “After reading the Green New Deal, I’m mostly afraid of not being able to get through this speech with a straight face — I rise today to consider the Green New Deal with the seriousness it deserves.”
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Mike Lee then went on to propose his “resolutions” to how we could get around the world without any air travel.
“In a future without air travel, how are we supposed to get around the vast expanses of say, Alaska? I’ll tell you how: Tauntauns!” Lee proclaimed. “This is a beloved species of repto-mammals native to the ice planet of Hoth. While perhaps not as efficient in some ways, as airplanes or snow mobiles, these hairy bipedal species of space lizards offer their own unique benefits: Not only are Tauntauns carbon-neutral, but according to a report a long time ago and issued far far away, they may even be fully recyclable.”
But, of course, Tauntauns aren’t exactly a solution for states or areas in warmer climates. So how could we get their without planes? Look no further than Aquaman.
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“I draw your attention to the 20-foot impressive seahorse he’s riding,” Lee continued in jest. “Under the Green New Deal, this is probably Hawaii’s best bet. Now, I’m the first to admit that a massive fleet of giant, highly trained seahorses would be cool, it would be really, really awesome, but we have to consider a few things — we have no idea about scalability or domestic capacity in this sector
“The last thing we want is to ban all airplanes only then to find out that China or Russia may have already established strategic, hippocampus programs designed to cut the United States out of the global market.”
Welcome to 2019, ladies and gentlemen. This is a Senate floor speech that is going to go down in the history books, so get ready to try explaining this one to your children.
You can watch Lee’s speech in its entirety below.
