Republicans have long viewed the issue of global warming as a relatively unimportant issue. But this year, Republicans' concerns about global warming have fallen through the floor. Just 12% of Republicans say that "dealing with global warming" should be a top priority for President Bush and Congress, making it by far their lowest-ranking issue.
In January 2007, global warming also ranked at the bottom of the Republicans' priorities list. But at that time, nearly twice as many Republicans rated it as a major priority as do so currently (23% then, 12% now). This year, the next lowest-rated policy priority among Republicans was providing health insurance to the uninsured, with 27% saying it should be a top priority for the president and Congress. For Democrats and independents, roughly a third or more rated even the lowest rated items as top priorities.
Read the full report Global Warming Falls Still Farther on Republicans' Policy Agenda on the Pew Research Center Web site.