Democrats are pretty upset about being forced to vote on the Green New Deal resolution, because how dare lawmakers vote on proposals submitted?
The Senate voted on the Green New Deal today: 0 Yeas, 57 Nays, and 43 Senators voted PRESENT pic.twitter.com/nvcnXA7zPe
— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) March 26, 2019
AOC is still whining about the vote
https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1110913863707447297
They “choose to lead”, but, don’t want to vote on it? Anyhow, here’s Excitable Michelle Cottle, a member of the NY Times editorial board going off on her own
Where’s Your Climate Plan, Mr. McConnell?
For those wondering if it was still possible for the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, to raise his cynicism game, Tuesday’s show vote on the Green New Deal supplied a resounding “yes.â€
Of all the pressing business Mr. McConnell could be tackling, he devoted precious floor time to the resolution introduced last month by the Democrats Ed Markey, the junior senator from Massachusetts, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a House freshman from New York. A grand reimagining of America’s environmental and economic landscape, the Green New Deal is not a policy proposal. It is a statement of values — a nonbinding resolution that even its champions do not expect to become law. Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has called it “a vision document.â€
So, this resolution about our planetary emergency, as in, if we don’t do something now we’re doomed in 12 years, wasn’t worth the time to vote? Strange.
The Senate majority leader, like so much of his party, has zero interest in climate change — or rather, he has no interest in pursuing policies to address what many regard as the defining crisis of our time. Mr. McConnell is, however, passionate about making life politically awkward for the opposition. With their base voters fired up about climate change, dozens of Democratic lawmakers have embraced the Green New Deal, including at least half a dozen 2020 presidential contenders. Even so, the resolution’s sweeping ambitions — built around a huge infrastructure investment and a shift to carbon-free energy — strike more than a few Democrats, especially moderates, as unrealistic and politically perilous.
So, wait, ‘climate change’ is the defining crisis of our time, the resolution was offered, and it was a Bad Thing that McConnell held a vote on it?
The Green New Deal is by no means a fully baked proposal for combating climate change. But for all its flaws, it is a more promising first step than the Republican leaders’ chosen strategy of inaction and sneering denial.
So, a first step that shouldn’t be voted on?
