"Surely the party can devote one-twelfth of its debate time to the issue that imperils civilization"
The NY Times:
The Democratic Party Is Trying to Downplay Climate Change. Don’t Let It.
Surely the party can devote one-twelfth of its debate time to the issue that imperils civilization
nytimes.com
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"Elizabeth Warren wants a climate debate too,
along with Bernie Sanders, Kirsten Gillibrand,
Michael Bennet, and Julián Castro. “
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"Groups backing a separate climate debate include the U.S. Youth Climate Strike, CREDO, Climate Hawks Vote, 350 Action, Greenpeace, Oil Change US, Daily Kos, NextGen America, the Sunrise Movement, Women’s March, Endangered Species Coalition, and Bold Alliance."
-Meteor Blades
Jay Inslee Says DNC Denied
His Request for a Climate Debate
.
"Why Is the DNC Stifling Climate Change Debate in 2020?"
The Democratic National Committee threatened to blacklist Jay Inslee from presidential debates if he participated in outside climate change debates
"Why Is the DNC Stifling Climate Change Debate in 2020?
The Democratic National Committee threatened to blacklist Jay Inslee from presidential debates if he participated in outside climate change debates."
More Below
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"Varshini Prakash of the Sunrise Movement, a youth-run grassroots activist group backing the Green New Deal, told Leber: “The American people deserve a climate debate. If the DNC isn’t willing to put it on, we’ll consider organizing one ourselves.”
dailykos.com
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Eight state Democratic Party chairs join Inslee’s demand
for a climate-change presidential debate
www.seattletimes.com/...
"At a time when the Democratic Party should be coalescing around general strategy, it has made yet another unforced error. Earlier this week, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) informed Washington governor and long-shot 2020 candidate Jay Inslee that it would not, despite his requests, host a climate change debate during the upcoming primary season. Even worse, according to Inslee, DNC representatives also told him that if he elected to participate in any unauthorized climate change forum convened by any other entity, the DNC would bar him from its officially-sanctioned debates as a consequence.
In a hastily-issued follow-up statement, DNC chair Tom Perez assertedthat the committee decided not to dedicate entire debates to any "single issue area," because it wants to "make sure voters have the ability to hear from candidates on all the issues." To Mother Jones, DNC spokesperson Xochitl Hinojosa noted that the DNC put out ground rules about "unsanctioned debates" months ago. Perez concluded by expressing optimism that climate change—which he acknowledged is an "existential threat" to the planet—will come up in every 2020 debate. It will just have to compete for time with all the other issues, too.
Perez's explanation doesn't make a ton of sense. He fails, for example, to articulate why focusing on an "existential threat" and discussing "all the issues" are mutually exclusive, especially given that the DNC has scheduled a dozen debates over the next ten months. Devoting one of the these several presidential debates to the issue could effectively communicate the gravity of the situation."www.gq.com/...
"Right now, as large swaths of the world are set to become uninhabitablewithin our natural lifetimes, the more-or-less official position of one of this country's two major parties is that global warming is a conspiracy theory perpetrated by fearmongering socialists preoccupied with cow farts. The man seeking a second four-year term in the White House publicly calls for more global warming whenever it's cold out, and might still believe the phenomenon is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese government to sabotage the U.S. manufacturing industry.
Meanwhile, the constituencies likeliest to vote in Democratic primaries—and whose support the eventual nominee needs to win a general election in 2020—care a lot about the climate crisis. In a Morning Consult poll from last month, two-thirds of Democrats and 42 percent of independents said that climate change poses a "critical" danger to the country within the next ten years, as did half of voters between ages 18 and 29, regardless of partisan preference. Overall, 70 percent of voters agreed that climate change is a critical issue or, at the very least, an "important" one.
Inslee isn't the only candidate who found the DNC's threat to be, at the very least, a little unsettling. Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren tweeted her support for the idea of a climate change debate shortly after Inslee's announcement. In a CBS News interview on Wednesday night, former Texas congressman and 2020 presidential hopeful Beto O'Rourke opined that Democratic voters "deserve" a forum "solely focused" on climate change. "I'd love to find a way that the DNC can incorporate this idea into their debate process," he said.www.gq.com/...
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"Jay Inslee might ignore DNC edict on climate crisis debate. DNC members appeal leaders' decision"
"18 members of the DNC, including nine state party chairs, are appealing the committee’s decision not to make an exception to its no single-issue debates in the case of the climate crisis. At the DNC’s Executive Committee meeting at the end of June, they plan to introduce the following resolution":
Resolution to Request a Democratic Presidential Debate on the Climate Crisis
WHEREAS, Climate Change is the defining issue of our time and we are at a defining moment for generations to come, requiring urgent leadership and real solutions to make critical change; and
WHEREAS, Climate Change impacts everyone on our planet, exacerbating economic instability, causing irreversible damage to our biodiversity, and disproportionately impacting vulnerable populations globally; and,
WHEREAS, as Democrats we both believe in science and in acting now to prevent further damage to our people, planet and economies; and
WHEREAS, failure to address Climate Change comprehensively now may result in creating only temporary and partial solutions to the fundamental inequities in American society that are the core of the Democratic platform; and
WHEREAS, as Democrats we have a moral responsibility to provide a national debate to focus the country's attention on this critical issue and what the American people must do to solve it, while also dispelling the myths and outright falsehoods that have been perpetuated regarding Climate Change;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that one of the first several DNC Presidential Debates should be focused on Climate Change issues and solutions; and
THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that if the DNC decides not to sponsor such a debate that it clearly states that our candidates are free to participate in any and all forums or debates focused on Climate Change sponsored by other groups.
Submitted by
Tina Podlodowski, Chair, Washington State Democrats
Casey Steinau, Chair, Alaska Democratic Party
Jess Durfee, DNC Member, California
Christine Pelosi, DNC Member, California
Kealii Lopez, Chair, Democratic Party of Hawaii
Van Beechler, Chair, Idaho Democratic Party
Chris Reeves, DNC Member, Kansas
Marg Elliston, Chair, Democratic Party of New Mexico
Carla Hanson, Chair, Democratic Party of Oregon
Pete Lee, Vice Chair, Democratic Party of Oregon
Tanya Shively, DNC Member, Oregon
Daisy Thomas, Chair, Utah Democratic Party
David Green, Vice-Chair, Washington State Democrats
Ed Cote, DNC Member, Washington
Sharon Mast, DNC Member, Washington
David McDonald, DNC Member, Washington
Nancy Monacelli, DNC Member, Washington
Joe Barbuto, Chair, Wyoming Democratic Party
"Not only will @DNC not host a climate debate, but it has warned @JayInslee if he participates in any non-DNC debates, he won't be invited to any of theirs. Shameful."
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LINKS
Governor Inslee will be at the June 26 debates
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INSLEE: Climate First!
Sign the petition to the DNC: Refusing to hold a debate on climate change is unacceptable
www.dailykos.com/...