Global Warming Lobbying as Metaphor

An insider describes Sen. Barbara Boxer's efforts to lobby Senator Arlen Specter to support cap and trade:
 

"She should have said, 'Arlen, the Mine Workers are not going to be with us,'" recalled someone who squirmed through the meeting. "That would have introduced a dose of reality. Instead, she lectured, and he listened. She tried to create a reality by describing things as she would like them to be, and she seemed to think that if nobody contradicted, they must agree. But people weren't agreeing. They were just waiting patiently and hoping the meeting ended as soon as possible."

From Eric Pooley's, "The Climate War."