In the awkward aftermath of the Green New Deal’s rollout, perhaps the most appropriate question for its supporters, especially the Democratic presidential field, is one often posed by tennis bad boy John McEnroe: “You cannot be serious!”
But, apparently, when New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Massachusetts Sen. Edward Markey introduced their proposal in February, they were deadly serious, and breathless progressives couldn’t wait to hop aboard the climate change express.
First in line, the Democratic presidential candidates in the Senate who were eager to offer up their enthusiastic support.
There was just one snag. The Green New Deal, in reality, wasn’t serious. These weren’t well-thought-out ideas or vetted policies. They were far-left talking points that couldn’t possibly survive any real scrutiny. And they didn’t.
The blowback was epic. Critics pounced on the resolution’s absurd provisions. America would have to retool every structure in the country to maximize energy efficiency.
No cars. No planes. Trains to everywhere. Well, except from L.A. to San Francisco, where fiscal reality has already ended that green dream. […snip…]
This is clearly a ridiculous proposal and perhaps Ms. Ocasio-Cortez can learn a lesson from her Green New Deal launch. There is more to legislating than naïve ideas and a lot of wishful thinking, even with a big megaphone. […snip…]
On March 26, Mitch McConnell gave Democrats the opportunity to stand on principle and vote for the Green New Deal policies they claimed to support. To do their job and legislate.
They whiffed.
All but three Democratic senators voted present, and the Green New Deal went down by a 57-0 vote. It didn’t take long for Democrats to realize they’d been had.
The candidates, still out on that limb, quickly opted for radio silence on the Green New Deal, and turned their focus to crucial issues like packing the Supreme Court, abolishing the Electoral College and giving 16-year-olds the vote.
Given the contenders’ near unanimity of thought on these and most issues, it’s not surprising the primary campaign has since begun to devolve into more of a personality contest than a policy debate.
Their response wasn’t to look inward and ponder over the fact that the stumble was theirs.
That, perhaps, particularly as presidential candidates, more serious thought should have gone into considering the substance of the Green New Deal rather than rushing to officially embrace a completely unrealistic proposal.
No, their reaction was to blame McConnell for forcing them into an embarrassing position. What they couldn’t admit is that the Republican majority leader understood the Green New Deal better than they did.
He understood that, at its essence, the debate about the Green New Deal isn’t really between Republicans and Democrats.
It represents a bigger question, whether socialism or capitalism will create a better future for America. Whether this nation wants more government control or valuing individual freedom.
It’s a crucial debate that the 2020 election will help settle. Time to get serious.
Read more at Roll Call
That isn’t the real issue, that’s the one know nowt politicos see it as.
The actual issue is what can be delivered by engineers applying proven science. Or whether the laws of physics take precedence over the laws of economists and politicians. ANSWER: They do. So all these nonsense ideas must fail, expensively, leaving their proponents subsidy rich and the public energy and also cash poor – for NO actual gain.
So the People proposing to impose these non solutions by law are ipso fact liars, fools, or both.
You can’t change the laws of physics and absolute energy intensities and reliability of the few available energy sources with subsides. Grid energy supply must be affordable, reliable, adequate, and even emission reducing if that really mattered. Renewables cannot replace fossil generation in most countries, create very little emission reduction vs gas, which they relay upon for 65% of supply so prolong the use of. Only nuclear binding energy can replace fossil molecular binding energy with zero CO2energy if that matters, sustainablyfor the life f the human race, with lowest use of land and natural resources, because it’s over a million times more energetic, and without fossil for primary energy used in heating and transport we will need 3 times more electrical energy, roughly.
Spent fuel is straightforward to move, process safely and dispose of the high level waste safely and securely, the only problems are public ignorance and political cowardice.
Of course we have a lot of clean low CO2 gas to burn before we need that. Then there is nothing else if the nation wants to stay developed at today’s levels or better, which requires us to maintain similar levels of energy use, allowing for some savings in insulation up North and technology such as low energy lighting evrywhere, etc.
Go figure.
Am I reading your comment correctly ?
Are you buying into the unproven and easily debunked
CO2 – GHE conjecture ?
I believe you are, I therefor reject your argument.
Every Democrat that hurried to endorse the GND is not fit for the Oval Office. The current field of declared candidates is bereft of competent leadership qualities.
There may be some one waiting in the wings who can go toe to toe with the President.
Better wear a jock strap.
All those in favor of the Green New Scam should just resign from Politics and take up Turkey Farming because it takes one to know one and the democratic turkeys are too dumb for ofice
Nancy Pelosi didn’t read Obama care before it was approved and clearly she didn’t read the “Green Deal ” . Either that or she is scared shitless to stand up to the new socialist running the party election platform .
Good luck selling their garbage to the deplorables in fly over country .
They don’t get it . Even when a party loses the people still expect their government to put the national interests first . The Democrats have given the entire nation the middle figure as they indulge themselves in their childish pout .
Mueller milked the Russia investigation fraud for $millions . He and his pals knew from the beginning that the basis to this scam was a DNC hit job enabled by the FBI and DOJ . Some of the Mueller team were even involved in that fraud from the beginning . The “insurance ” policy didn’t pay out and now the ring leaders are going down . Good riddance . Treason is what they were up to and Barr just has to read the evidence already provided . No need to pee away another $40 million on a “Special Council “
All the Democrats want are Higher Taxes and More axes on just about everything we enjoy the most the Jackass needs 25;000 volt Cattle prod directly to his rear