Another Green New Deal, and Darling Is the Wind Blowing Today?

The “New Green Deal — or whatever the hell they call it” — remained in the news over the weekend.  Speaking at the CPAC conference on Saturday (for 2.5 hours no less), President Trump said he “encourages it” and “thinks it’s really something” but “takes the other side of the argument” because he is “mandated to.”  He also mocked the reliability of wind power (he said “Darling, is the wind blowing today, I want to watch TV?”), seemingly ignorant that nearly 7 percent of the nation’s electricity comes from wind turbines, according to the (somewhat reliable) Energy Information Administration (EIA), which is much more than solar and roughly the same percentage as hydropower.  Even First daughter Ivanka Trump poked fun at the resolution on Saturday night saying that she did not have time to write jokes to tell at the dinner, “so I figured the funniest thing I could do was read excerpts from the Green New Deal.”

At the same time, Democrats are searching for ways to embrace the Green New Deal without having to vote on the Markey-AOC version of the Resolution.  On Wednesday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Roll Call that there would not be a vote on the Resolution in the House.  She wants to focus more on developing actual legislation to address the climate crisis, according to Roll Call, rather than passing the nonbinding resolution. “The question is about how to translate the enthusiasm for addressing climate change ‘into legislation, the law of the land,’ she said.”  And on the Senate side, all 47 Democrats co-sponsored a new Green New Deal resolution introduced by Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware.  Rather than paraphrase this very short new GND resolution, here is the entire text:

JOINT RESOLUTION

Calling on the United States and Congress to take immediate action to address the challenge of climate change.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

That it is the sense of Congress that—

(1) climate change is real;

(2) human activity during the last century is the dominant cause of the climate crisis; and

(3) the United States and Congress should take immediate action to address the challenge of climate change.

Why This Matters: The Carper GND was pronounced dead on arrival by Friends of the Earth — “This resolution is wasting time while our climate burns. The window for moderate action on climate change has closed. A symbolic critique of Republicans for having no plan rings hollow if centrist Democrats lack the courage to press for real solutions.”  You can judge for yourself, but it is clear that this new resolution is a low bar and not particularly inspirational or even aspirational. The Dems can try to paint this new GND resolution as a step forward compared to the total lack of a plan by the Republicans, but it is a baby step at best.  And we doubt it will satisfy those who care about climate change — which is, according to the League of Conservation Voters, 83 percent of Democratic primary voters in early states such as Iowa and New Hampshire.

And to go funnier: SNL did a parody of Senator Feinstein and her viral video with schoolkids.  It’s hilarious. But also a sign of how much media attention the GND proposal is getting.  LOL. DO!