Sometimes a story lede is so striking and self-explanatory that any further commentary just distracts from the obvious:

After 16 years of trying to marry their party’s support for drilling and climate change denial with environmental protection, Republicans for Environmental Protection is dropping the word “Republican” from its name.

‘Nuff said.

But below is a reminder of the days when it was easy to be green–and Republican.

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Ed Kilgore is a political columnist for New York Magazine; a longtime contributor to the Washington Monthly; and a former policy adviser to three governors and a U.S. senator from his home state of Georgia.