Climate chaos is hitting us now. It’s not 2000 anymore. We are not talking about future impacts. It’s here. It’s getting worse. It won’t get better until we stop treating our air as an infinite exhaust dump.
Most people understand. Significant majorities acknowledge climate change driven by humans, and worry about environmental impacts. Even staid economic consultants are realizing that we need large scale fundamental changes to our economies if we are going to cut emissions enough to survive the coming chaos. The ones who don’t see it are Republicans, though younger ones are starting to come around.
Al Gore, who BTW supported choice and gun regulation, led a Democratic party that included climate in its platform back in 2000.
we must dramatically reduce climate-disrupting and health-threatening pollution in this country, while making sure that all nations of the world participate in this effort.
Gore has gone on to author and produce An Inconvenient Truth, as well as, trained thousands of climate activists. We’ve had state actions to mitigate climate impacts, led by Washington Governor Jay Inslee. Meanwhile, Republicans gave us Rush Limbaugh and Jim Inhofe leading choruses of denial and calling for business as usual. Armed with this media information, it should be straight forward to write a report such as:
Republicans Gave Us Extreme Heat, Fires, Rising Sea Levels, Torrential Atmospheric Rivers, and Other Climate Devastation
Republicans have not always been so anti-climate. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush signed, and the Senate ratified, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Some Republicans expressed support for cap and trade after the success of limiting ozone pollution. However, support gave way to inaction when it came time to consider binding resolutions in the Kyoto Protocol.
As of May 2013, 191 countries and one regional economic organization (the EC) have ratified the agreement
even though the Clinton administration signed the treaty,[106] it was never submitted to the Senate for ratification.
Since then, Republicans changed their tune to work in lockstep with big oil and added climate to their list of subjects that Democrats must be opposed in at every turn. According to former Republican congress member Claudine Schneider, money is the main reason.
Why has the Republican Party shifted? I have one answer for you: Money. They have been bought off by the fossil fuel industry.
That seems simple. Checking news outlets supports it. Is it reflected in legislative history?
Media rhetoric, scientific presentations and individual state actions are part of the story, but are often overlooked in historical views covering decades of action or inaction by the government. Federal and national action tell the bigger, more followed story. That is where legislative history is important. As Republican positions hardened, rather than having votes to clarify party positions, less climate action occurred in the US Congress.
After the failure of cap and trade and Republicans taking the House in 2010, climate legislation was sparse until the Biden administration. Republicans and a coal state Democrat prevented more decisive action, but we did get at least one piece of legislation. For the immediate future of midterm campaigning, we cannot overstate the importance of the Bipartisan Infrastructure and Investment and Jobs Act, which makes
the largest investment in clean energy transmission and EV infrastructure in history; electrifying thousands of school and transit buses across the country; and creating a new Grid Deployment Authority to build a resilient, clean, 21st century electric grid
It is labelled bipartisan despite having only Democratic cosponsors and receiving support from just 32 of 250 congressional Republicans. Most Republicans took advantage of Democratic good will by hypocritically lining up to condemn passage while taking credit for projects in their home districts.
Various House Republicans also criticized the 13 Republican representatives who voted for the bill.[72] Lauren Boebert described them as "RINOS" (Republican in Name Only).[72] Mary Miller called them "spineless" and said they helped enact a "socialist takeover".[72] Marjorie Taylor Greene called them "traitors" and "American job & energy killers", who "are China-First and America-Last", because they "agree with Globalist Joe [Biden] that America must depend on China to drive" electric vehicles. Gary Palmer was criticized for touting funding for the Birmingham Northern Beltline that he added to the bill, while neglecting to mention that he voted against the final bill.[74] Paul Gosar was also criticized for taking credit for the bill's funding for Kingman Airport despite voting against it.[75] Several Republican governors who condemned the bill, including Kristi Noem of South Dakota and Greg Gianforte of Montana, accepted the funding and directed it to various programs.[76]
None of that is new. Republicans have been playing the two faced, power at all costs, liars game for decades. And Democrats keep calling for bipartisanship.
Over the last three decades, it looks like a largely bipartisan consensus for deadly business as usual inaction. Govtrack.us lists 20 climate acts passed, with D and R sponsors, and mostly tucked into appropriations and defense authorization acts.
Today, we have a bipartisan climate solutions caucus in which the Democratic chair says “both parties have to be at the table” while the Republican chair prioritizes “securing our energy future and protecting jobs” by doing things like introducing amendments to protect fossil fuel companies from limits to fracking.
Rather than forcing votes on substantive climate action in every controlled congress, Democrats have taken the practical approach of focusing on bills that can pass to give us marginal gains built on a few Republican lawmakers providing the appearance of bipartisanship.
That led me to consider a story along the lines of:
Partisan Bipartisanship Won’t Save Us, Our Environment, or Democracy
We need more, and we can’t lag for a few Republicans to sign on. Too many are beholden to fossil fuel business. Besides, Republicans use any action, however trivial, to claim victory and further attack Democrats as big government socialists, all while they drag us undemocratically towards big government fascism.
After considering this history, is it possible that I am giving Democrats the benefit of the doubt? Are they more worried about comity than climate? Have too many sold out to business and fossil fuel interests? Why hasn’t there been more action? Are you still fooled by Republican hypocritical power plays? Am I being fooled by your stated support of climate action that is not matched in the legislative history?
It is well past time Democrats. We cannot match Republicans and fossil fuel companies in financing, but they cannot stop us acting together for heroic first responders, educators, care givers, janitors, and all hard working Americans.
Keep fund raising as you must in this skewed system where money equals speech.
If you are really ready to fight then step up and legislate for the good of citizens, not just bipartisanship. Furthermore, with significant polling majorities, you can get behind mass action. Republicans stormed the Capitol for Christ’s sake. Let’s not do that, but let’s instead use our networks to mobilized peaceful actions across the country.
Back our people power. Collate, network and organize civil participation. Make good trouble where necessary. Get people out. Block business as usual if you have to. It’s past time.
Don’t treat issues as isolated events either. Network and organize with women’s health activists and Dobbs protestors. Call for general strikes. Do what it takes. Use your greatest asset, people.
It’s time, Democratic party officials. If you don’t, Republicans will take credit for incremental achievements, while they continue to dismantle means for doing more and push us further towards their feudal state fantasies.