As candidate after candidate for the Presidential nomination calls for a climate debate (at least 14), Tom Perez holds out.
As Florida burns (and Europe swelters, Greenland melts, Midwest farmers deal with flooded fields, …), Tom Perez holds firm.
As inspiring young people, fearful over their futures and fighting for a better America, hold an overnight vigil at the DNC, Tom Perez refuses to budge on his refusal to provide a focused forum to lay out clearly the ideas and approaches that each of the candidates have for tackling the most serious issue facing humanity and how to foster a more prosperous, equitable, just, resilient, climate-friendly United States.
For months, people across the country and leading Presidential candidates have been calling for a debate focused on climate change.
The DNC responded by refusing to host a climate debate and threatening to ban any candidate who participates in a climate debate from any future official Democratic Party debates.
DNC Chair Tom Perez said they don't support a climate debate because climate change is a “single issue” that would be “impractical” to address. Climate change isn't just another issue, it's an existential threat that affects every other issue. Americans understand that. It's why climate is a top issue in this election.
Our survival is at stake. It’s time for the political and media establishment to act like it. That’s why on Tuesday June 25 (the day before the first Democratic Presidential Primary Debate), 200+ young people are taking action at the DNC headquarters in Washington DC to demand in person that the party establishment listen to our generation: take our survival seriously and host a climate debate.
Simply put, Tom, embrace the criticality of climate change, the urgency of the discussion, the political value for showing Democratic politicians leverage (rather than reject) scientific knowledge, and meet with the Sunrise Movement activists … and announce that there will be a climate debate.