Already, deep fissures are emerging between, on one side, a base of ideological voters and lawmakers with strong ties to powerful tea - party groups and super PACs
funded by the fossil -
fuel industry who see climate change as a false threat concocted by liberals to justify greater government control; and on the other side, a quiet group of moderates, younger voters, and leading conservative intellectuals who
fear that if Republicans continue to dismiss or deny climate change, the party will become irrelevant.