Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s “Green New Deal” doesn’t have a chance of passage in Congress and would not be signed into law by Donald Trump anyway.
But the proposal is growing in popularity on the left and congressmen who oppose it may find themselves in hot water with Democratic primary voters in 2020.
In a signal that Democratic voters aren’t satisfied with timid steps to address the human-made global climate crisis, new polling from Data for Progress—initially reported by HuffPost on Thursday—shows that incumbent congressional candidates in 2020 could be ousted by progressive primary challengers if they fail to back a Green New Deal.
Championed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and a growing collective of Democratic lawmakers and climate campaigners, a Green New Deal would combine efforts to curb global warming and create a more just economy through generating clean energy jobs and other initiatives. Such a deal, however, has been met with opposition from more conservative Democrats.
The youth-led Sunrise Movement, which has organized protests at congressional offices in recent weeks to encourage House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other Democrats to support a Green New Deal, celebrated the new polling results in a tweet:
Just how popular is the #GreenNewDeal? So popular that opposing it opens Democrats up to serious primary challenges. https://t.co/RzjfgZfDLS
— Sunrise Movement 🌅 (@sunrisemvmt) January 3, 2019
The “growing collective” (they just can’t help themselves) of Democrats who support the scheme are in the safest of safe congressional districts. But how many of those 40 Democrats who just won election for the first time in November — almost all of them in swing districts — would be willing to walk the plank for socialism?
If Democrats want to promote this insanely expensive, probably useless boondoggle, by all means, let them do it. If they want to make it a litmus test for candidates who run in 2020, Republicans should say “please.” Even more toxic to voters than “Medicare for all,” the Green New Deal might just give Republicans control of the House again and re-elect Donald Trump.
Would that make Dems “green” with envy?
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