Current Events > Some dems are willing to watch the world burn too. Alexandria Cortez and climate

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kathy-castor-climate_us_5c1c0843e4b08aaf7a869cfd

Democrats Just Blocked Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezs Push For A Green New Deal Committee

Instead, Democrats are sticking to their original plan, and channeled Exxon Mobil in an announcement refusing to bar members who take fossil fuel money.

Democratic leaders on Thursday tapped Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) to head a revived U.S. House panel on climate change, all but ending a dramatic monthlong effort to establish a select committee on a Green New Deal.

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She then suggested that barring members who have accepted donations from the oil, gas and coal industries from serving on the committee could be unconstitutional.

I dont think you can do that under the First Amendment, really, she said.

That reasoning echoed arguments Exxon Mobil Corp. made in court as recently as this year to defend its funding of right-wing think tanks that deliberately produced misinformation about climate science to stymie government action on global warming.

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Its a stunning upset, essentially returning Democrats to the original plan leaders laid out before the protests began in November. The announcement comes as a loss for Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). Her meteoric rise and devoted base made it seem as if she were poised to win the burgeoning cadre of leftist Democrats a beachhead in a select committee that, even with limited capacity, would have demonstrated tangible power in Washington.

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We dont have time to sit on our hands as our planet burns, Ocasio-Cortez said Thursday in a tweet. For young people, climate change is bigger than election or re-election. Its life or death.

Its unclear whether Ocasio-Cortez will even get a seat on the select committee.

Asked if she accepted money from fossil fuel companies, Castor said, I cannot think of a contribution from an oil company or fossil fuel company, but I cannot say without going back and with a fine-toothed comb that there wasnt something in the past.

According to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, Castor accepted more than $73,000 from the energy and natural resources sector over her 12-year tenure in Congress, including $60,000 from corporate political action committees. The League of Conservation Voters gave Castor an 86 percent score last year on its ranking, which is based on her voting record. She had a 93 percent lifetime score.

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The restoration of the select committee on climate change puts an end to a month-long effort to replace it with a panel focused specifically on crafting a Green New Deal, an umbrella term for a suite of policies that would include shifting the United States to 100 percent renewable energy over the next decade and guaranteeing high-wage, federally backed jobs to workers in outmoded industries.

Article was too long to post (thanks GameFAQS) so I had to post snippets. Just a daily reminder that we're all screwed because even the democrats are willing to let the world burn if it lines their pockets with cash.
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When you're right, you're right.
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I'm really curious whether a significant shift of the DNC's political center to the left would be a net loss or net gain
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She's gonna burn too hot at this rate and end up totally useless because nobody will want to work with her. Like it or not, if she wants her agenda to gain traction she kind of has to play the game. This whole "zero sum game" approach to policy just doesn't work in a large collaborative environment.
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Dems ignoring the crazy person?

There's hope for them after all
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s0nicfan posted...

She's gonna burn too hot at this rate and end up totally useless because nobody will want to work with her. Like it or not, if she wants her agenda to gain traction she kind of has to play the game. This whole "zero sum game" approach to policy just doesn't work in a large collaborative environment.

Yeah, she's doing the most right now. They don't even like her like that.
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Of course you're not going to get the US to start looking for alternatives than fossil fuels. Big Oil has both the GOP and Dems in their back pockets.

Anything remotely comes along to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels lightens the wallets of Big Oil and that can't happen.

Only way you're going to see any real change is by having elected officials that aren't bought and paid for.
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scar the 1 posted...

I'm really curious whether a significant shift of the DNC's political center to the left would be a net loss or net gain

There's a lot of popular support for more "left" policy like Medicare for All, and the center-right orientation of the Democratic Party hadn't led to a lot of success electorally, which culminated in the 2016 election season. Definitely a net gain, but I have some misgivings with the Democratic Party generally also think we can stand to move further left as well.
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She's playing 6D Chess
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She's not wrong. Since our country determined large donations from corporations are protected free speech, we gotta deal with it. Ultimately both political parties are merely doing what the money tells them to.
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