Had there been a hand puppet, or a corpse, at last week’s endorsement meeting of the Culver City Democratic Club, even he, or it, would have been cheered pantingly if he had breathlessly declared that he, or it, supported a ban on those gosh darned plastic bags.

The softball question from moderator Gary Walker was: While about 60 California municipalities have banned plastic bags, no such law exists at the state level. Would you support a ban statewide?

Said Christopher Armenta, a candidate in the special election two weeks from today to fill a vacant state Assembly seat:

“When I was on the City Council, I always pushed for a ban. There is no equivocating. I want to be very clear. Yes, I would support a ban on plastic bags.”

Candidate John Jake was succinct: “I support a ban.”

Race favorite Sebastian Ridley-Thomas rounded out the sweep. He pledged to work with new state Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Culver City), who previously held the Assembly seat, to formulate language for a ban.

Mr. Walker, however, bypassed a chance to ask a more serious, probing question:

Why ban them?

Had the respondents been candid, they might have found themselves sitting astride an arrow pointed upward.

Led by the hysterical harrys who tell us that climate/global/ change/warming likely will end the world before the next Rose Bowl, for the 15th consecutive year, I never have heard a remotely convincing response.

Only high-pitched cheerleading.

Any unhinged progressive can cry that they are killing thousands of fish. Not one progressive, though, has produced evidence. Thus, we have global change or warming, whatever is in style this year, frantic cries about fracking, and crisscrossing chaos over plastic bags, the silliest battle cry of all.

But when you don’t have either a relationship or a religious belief system in your life, and all of those smiling conservatives around you seem so fulfilled, the temptation to blow a whistle and stop the world must be powerful.

(To be continued)