It doesn’t come with delegates, this primary, but it does come with a real vote of support from those who care the most about what’s probably the biggest issue our planet has ever faced.
Here’s the backstory. ClimateHawksVote is a relatively new PAC, mostly supporting candidates at the state and local level, as well as leading an admirable effort to get the Department of Justice and state attorneys general to investigate Exxon’s climate deceptions. The remarkable RL Miller, who should be familiar to all Kossacks, got it going—one of many crucial projects she’s undertaken. It’s got a wide spectrum of people on the board: Jigar Shah, Lydia Avila, Beka Economopolous, Richard Graves, many more. And great staff: Brad Johnson, one of the world’s most dependable climate bloggers and online organizers, and the strategically sharp and interesting writer Hunter Cutting. Anyway, a few weeks ago they decided to conduct an online primary on their mailing list, in part because many people were upset that the biggest environmental electioneering operation, the League of Conservation Voters, had made its endorsement without asking its members.
Hillary Clinton sent her pitch, and since Bernie won’t deal with PACs I cobbled together one for my fellow Vermonter, and people voted. The bar for endorsement was high—a candidate needed to get 75% of the vote, and there was a ‘no endorsement’ option. But Bernie has clearly impressed climate voters—perhaps most of all with his forthright answer in an early debate that of all the questions troubling the security of world, climate change was the most important. That drew scorn from political pros, but clearly it drew affection from those who care about the climate. And of course he’s been following it up with strong statements about curtailing fracking, and about refusing to take money from the fossil fuel industry. Amid this week’s torrid March heat across much of the country, those were refreshing gusts of candor.
Anyway, this primary won’t change the delegate count. Perhaps the most important thing it’s done is raise the profile—and the membership—of a truly important new group. If you’d like to join ClimateHawksVote, here’s the page.