Members of a left-leaning group who advocate for the Green New Deal who already have a presence in Tennessee have announced a three-part strategy to defeat U.S. Republican President Donald Trump this year.
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Moderate Democrats who are working on getting reelected in a partisan environment are doing their best to keep a distance from the so-called Green New Deal.
Democratic Reps. Lauren Underwood of Illinois, Henry Cuellar of Texas and Harley Rouda of California are keeping their distance from the GND as they campaign for reelection in Republican-leaning seats. Cuellar called the group supporting the measure “Justice Socialists.”
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Members of a left-leaning group who advocate for the Green New Deal are scheduled to hold what is known as a “Climate Strike Friday” in Nashville and Knoxville as part of a larger nationwide movement.
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When I joined Rotary in 2014, one of the most important guides I was given by the members is that Rotary is not political. Although I’ve been involved in local politics for many years, I really have enjoyed putting politics aside and working with other Rotarians of all stripes to help those less fortunate locally and internationally.
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U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, a Democrat representing Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional District, has reportedly changed his mind on the Green New Deal, and he now favors it.
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Facebook nixed a political ad Saturday that contained a doctored video of Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham proclaiming his support for the Green New Deal.
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In the flash of an eye, the world’s oil supply was reduced by 5 percent after the Sept. 14 attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities including the Abqaiq oil processing facility, which sent oil prices soaring in trading on Sept. 16 and then a subsequent pullback today upon Saudi announcements that production will be restored within weeks.
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Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders introduced a $16.3-trillion plan similar to the Green New Deal on Thursday, which he says will create 20 million jobs.
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U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY-14) chief of staff and communications director are both leaving her D.C. office, but they’re not going far as one will reportedly help her re-election campaign and the other will help push her progressive agenda.
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by Mark P. Mills A week doesn’t pass without a mayor, governor, policymaker or pundit joining the rush to demand, or predict, an energy future that is entirely based on wind/solar and batteries, freed from the “burden” of the hydrocarbons that have fueled societies for centuries. Regardless of one’s opinion about whether, or why, an energy “transformation” is called for, the physics and economics of energy combined with scale realities make it clear that there is no possibility of anything resembling a radically “new energy economy” in the foreseeable future. Bill Gates has said that when it comes to understanding energy realities “we need to bring math to the problem.” He’s right. So, in my recent Manhattan Institute report, “The New Energy Economy: An Exercise in Magical Thinking,” I did just that. Herein, then, is a summary of some of the bottom-line realities from the underlying math. (See the full report for explanations, documentation, and citations.) Realities About the Scale of Energy Demand 1. Hydrocarbons supply over 80 percent of world energy: If all that were in the form of oil, the barrels would line up from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles, and that entire line would grow by the…
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by Michael Bastach House Democrats’ climate change hearing is based on “inaccurate” information that’s “not in accord with current science or consensus,” according to a scientist. A Committee on Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee will hold a hearing Tuesday on natural disaster policy “in the wake of climate change.” However, Democrats are under fire for making claims on the hearing’s webpage that don’t line up with the facts. Atmospheric scientist Ryan Maue, a hurricane expert, tweeted that the Democrats’ hearing “spreads lies” about the scientific consensus on climate change and hurricanes. The House subcommittee is chaired by California Rep. Harley Rouda and includes Green New Deal champion New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as a member. Maue pointed out that major scientific assessments cast doubt on claims global warming is increasing hurricane frequency or intensity. “This is not in accord with current science or consensus anywhere = fraud,” Maue said of House Democrats’ climate claims, which relies on information on information posted online by environmental activists. Not a good look for next House hearing on climate change and disasters that furthers inaccurate information (spreads lies) from Union of Concerned Scientists on hurricanes. This is not in accord with current science or consensus anywhere =…
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by Edward Ring Front running 2020 presidential contender Joe Biden has just released his climate “plan,”claiming that with a $1.7 trillion federal investment, U.S. carbon emissions will reach zero within 30 years. You can say this for Biden – the canny old campaigner isn’t highlighting his climate plan as a cure-all for social injustice. Unlike the “Green New Deal,” Biden leaves out of his blueprint a federal job guarantee, universal healthcare, and housing. And while he includes the obligatory obeisance to inclusion, diversity, equity, indigenous peoples, vulnerable communities, people of color, and every other paint-by-number platitude, those aren’t his main focus. Nope, Joe is marketing the lunch box issues. Union jobs. Infrastructure. Energy leadership. Exports. Industries of the future. Moreover, Biden’s plan, unlike the Green New Deal, does not read like a college term paper. But if you’re a climate skeptic, or if you’re skeptical that bigger government is the answer, this plan should have you worried. Because it comes very close to offering a consensus plan that even some of Trump’s swing voters might support: which is to fund technology initiatives and infrastructure projects that should be funded anyway, regardless of whether or not rising levels of atmospheric CO2 are…
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by Michael Bastach Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren introduced legislation to conscript the military into the fight against global warming, mandating non-combat bases meet the goals of the Green New Deal. “[C]onsistent with the objectives of the Green New Deal, the Pentagon should achieve net zero carbon emissions for all its non-combat bases and infrastructure by 2030,” the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate wrote in a Medium post published Wednesday. Warren introduced the bicameral bill Wednesday with Democratic Texas Rep. Veronica Escobar. Warren said the military can help “win” the fight against global warming by phasing out fossil fuels at non-combat bases. “We don’t have to choose between a green military and an effective one,” Warren wrote. “My energy and climate resiliency plan will improve our service members’ readiness and safety, all while achieving cost savings for American taxpayers.” “Our military understands that, and it’s time our elected leaders did as well. Together, we can work with our military to fight climate change — and win,” she wrote. Democrats have argued global warming comes with national security risks since the Obama administration, in particular during the push to pass cap-and-trade legislation that failed in 2010. The Pentagon listed global warming as a “threat multiplier”…
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by Mary Margaret Olohan Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders will join Democratic New York Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez at a Green New Deal rally Monday night at Howard University in Washington, D.C. The rally is hosted by the Sunrise Movement, an environmental activism group attempting to build “an army of young people to stop climate change and create millions of good jobs in the process,” and will be the final stop on the Sunrise Movement’s “Road To The Green New Deal” tour. The Sunrise Movement has held protests at the offices of Democratic leaders such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in collaboration with Ocasio-Cortez, according to The Washington Examiner. The group announced Sander’s attendance in a tweet Saturday. “BIG NEWS:@SenSanders is joining us Monday with @AOC, @SenMarkey, and more for the final #Road2GND tour stop in DC where we’ll launch the next phase of the #GreenNewDeal campaign.” BIG NEWS: @SenSanders is joining us Monday with @AOC, @SenMarkey, and more for the final #Road2GND tour stop in DC where we'll launch the next phase of the #GreenNewDeal campaign. https://t.co/SeYQxPolBT — Sunrise Movement 🌅 (@sunrisemvmt) May 11, 2019 The rally comes as Democratic 2020 presidential hopefuls bring climate change to the forefront of the political arena. Sanders…
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by Michael Bastasch New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez seemed to take a victory lap on the Green New Deal, claiming her effort proved Republicans’ “climate denial is now a losing position.” “We chose to go on the climate offense with the #GreenNewDeal,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted Thursday night. “As a result, climate denial is now a losing position + we got GOP (incl #WheresMitch!) to finally admit that climate change is real + man-made.” We chose to go on the climate offense with the #GreenNewDeal. As a result, climate denial is now a losing position + we got GOP (incl #WheresMitch!) to finally admit that climate change is real + man-made. Now it’s time to go after predatory lending. Whose side is the GOP on? https://t.co/1nI4UQnEVB — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 10, 2019 Ocasio-Cortez and Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, both Democrats, introduced the Green New Deal resolution in February, which calls for a complete societal transformation to fight global warming. While many Democratic presidential candidates and lawmakers endorsed the bill, moderate Democrats were less enthusiastic about the proposal. Democratic leadership largely sidestepped the matter, moving forward with alternative In fact, not a single Senate Democrat voted for the Green New Deal…
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by Michael Bastach Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke’s $5 trillion climate change plan has not enthused far-left environmentalists, who say it doesn’t go as far as the Green New Deal. “Beto claims to support the Green New Deal, but his plan is out of line with [the] timeline it lays out and the scale of action that scientists say is necessary here in the United States to give our generation a livable future,” Sunrise Movement executive director Varshini Prakash said in a statement. Sunrise Movement Statement in Response to @BetoORourke's Climate Plan: Thread: pic.twitter.com/VzN9Uz6pz5 — Sunrise Movement 🌅 (@sunrisemvmt) April 29, 2019 The Green New Deal, introduced by Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in February, calls for a World War II-style takeover of the U.S. economy to replace fossil fuels with renewables and vastly expand the welfare state, all of which is estimated to cost up to $93 trillion over a decade. O’Rourke, on the other hand, aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, getting halfway there by 2030. The plan also calls for a slew of new regulations and re-entering the Paris climate accord. O’Rourke unveiled his $5 trillion climate change agenda Monday at Yosemite National Park. O’Rourke framed his plan…
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by Michael Bastasch The Green New Deal would cost trillions of dollars a year and cause “significant environmental damage,” according to a new report. The report, by American Enterprise Institute scholar Benjamin Zycher, claims the Green New Deal championed by many 2020 Democratic presidential candidates would come with its own set of environmental issues from rapidly expanding renewable energy. “There is the heavy-metal pollution created by the production process for wind turbines,” Zycher wrote in his report, which was released Wednesday. “There are the noise and flicker effects of wind turbines. There are the large problems of solar panel waste and toxic metals. There is the wildlife destruction caused by the production of renewable power,” Zycher wrote. Zycher’s conservative estimate of the Green New Deal’s total cost is about $9 trillion a year. The conservative American Action Forum reported in February the Green New Deal could cost $93 trillion over ten years. However, there are a lot of uncertainties when estimating the Green New Deal’s costs, and the $93 trillion figure has come under scrutiny in recent weeks. For starters, the Green New Deal more a list of broad goals than a detailed policy plan. Introduced by New York…
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The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) began targeting Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) and other swing-state Democrats Monday with a new billboard campaign. “Ask Tina Smith about the 430,478 Minnesota jobs at risk under the Green New Deal,” the NRSC’s new Minnesota billboard states. Smith has expressed support for the Green New Deal, but voted “present” along with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) when the measure was put up for a vote in the Senate. Great new billboard here in MN by @NRSC. It’s time @TinaSmithMN answer for why she wants to crush jobs in Minnesota. #mnsen pic.twitter.com/ETvO9Da6p3 — Kevin Poindexter (@Kdpoindexter) April 22, 2019 State Sen. Karin Housley (R-St. Mary’s Point), Smith’s 2018 opponent, tweeted a picture of the billboard Monday along with the contact information for Smith’s office. “Yep, you should ask Sen. Tina Smith. I saved you the search,” Housley said. Smith defeated Housley in the 2018 special election to finish the remainder of former Sen. Al Franken’s term, but she will be up for reelection again in 2020. Yep, you should ask @SenTinaSmith. I saved you the search: (202) 224-5641 or https://t.co/TE6oaflnIq #mnsen pic.twitter.com/mbEeMywZ3U — Karin Housley (@KarinHousley) April 22, 2019 It’s been rumored that Housley may run…
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by Michael Bastasch New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez released a video depicting a where the Green New Deal turns the U.S. into a democratic socialist utopia, complete with a bullet train from New York City to D.C. The video depicts a future where the Democrats take the Senate and White House in 2020 and enact a Green New Deal that ends up creating a “society that was not only modern and wealthy, but dignified and humane too,” Ocasio-Cortez says in the video. Ocasio-Cortez says Americans need to close their eyes and “imagine” a Green New Deal society before it can happen. Meanwhile, energy experts and economists are skeptical the Green New Deal is possible or even desirable. “We need to be able to close our eyes and imagine it,” Ocasio-Cortez says in the seven-minute cartoon. “We can be whatever we have the courage to see.” Climate change is here + we’ve got a deadline: 12 years left to cut emissions in half. A #GreenNewDeal is our plan for a world and a future worth fighting for. How did we get here?What is at stake?And where are we going? Please watch & share widely ⬇️pic.twitter.com/IMCtS86VXG — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April…
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Minnesota lawmakers have officially introduced a state level “Green New Deal” that was inspired in large part by youth-activist organizations. In fact, when introducing his bill Wednesday, Rep. Frank Hornstein (DFL-Minneapolis) said it was the “first time” he’s ever “witnessed high school students actually writing a bill.” Hornstein was joined at a Wednesday press conference by a handful of student activists with the climate group “MN Can’t Wait,” according to MPR News. The bill itself, officially titled “Minnesota Green New Deal Act,” calls for making the state’s electricity 100 percent carbon-free by 2030. It would also place a “construction moratorium” on allowing state agencies to issue permits to “construct a facility to transport, store, or process coal, crude oil or its derivative products, propane, or natural gas.” “The commission is prohibited from issuing a certificate of need to construct an electric generating plant powered by coal, products refined from crude oil, or natural gas,” the bill adds. Hornstein’s legislation would also establish a “Climate Change Advisory Council” that would “provide recommendations to improve Minnesota state government operations, functions, and policies to identify groups and individuals in need of assistance in adapting to climate change and develop programs to assist those…
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by Molly Prince Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez claimed on Tuesday not a single Senate Democrat voted in favor of the Green New Deal because she asked them to vote “present.” “Because I encouraged them to vote present, along w/ others,” Ocasio-Cortez responded when Republican Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso asked her why Democrats ducked going on the Senate record in support of her radical anti-climate change resolution. Because I encouraged them to vote present, along w/ others. McConnell tried to rush the #GreenNewDeal straight to the floor without a hearing. Because I encouraged them to vote present, along w/ others. McConnell tried to rush the #GreenNewDeal straight to the floor without a hearing. The real question we should be asking: Why does the Senate GOP refuse to hold any major hearings on climate change? https://t.co/de8oKOXeJf — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 26, 2019 The New York Congresswoman’s response came only hours after the Senate voted 57 to 0 to kill the Green New Deal, which was introduced by Ocasio-Cortez and Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey. Three Democrats voted against the resolution: Democratic Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and Democratic Alabama Sen. Doug Jones. The…
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by Chris White Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his Republican colleagues torpedoed the activist-backed Green New Deal Tuesday as Democrats called the vote a dog-and-pony show. Republicans defeated the proposal 57 to 0 as Democratic lawmakers derided the vote as a political gesture meant to rile up conservatives ahead of an election year. McConnell called the GND Tuesday morning a socialistic ploy designed to kill the American economy and the “only sources of energy that working-class and middle-class families can actually afford.” Only three Democrats voted against the resolution. Democratic Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and Doug Jones of Alabama all voted no. All of their fellow Democratic colleagues voted present. The resolution, which was introduced in February by New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, calls for “10-year national mobilizations” toward a series of goals aimed at fighting global warming. A separate fact sheet claims the plan would “mobilize every aspect of American society on a scale not seen since World War 2.” Recent reports suggest the GND, which seeks to phase out fossil fuel usage within 12 years, could costs tens of trillions of dollars. Americans could be forced to pay up…
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by CHQ Staff We’ve told CHQ readers about the deleterious effects of the “Green New Deal,” a Socialist plan aimed at taking hold of American economic life under the guise of drastically reducing carbon emissions in the next ten years. One of the principle reasons Democrats have launched the “Green New Deal” is because they think climate change hysteria among young people has reached critical mass politically and it is time to capture those votes. “Climate change is the biggest threat to my future. And just because I can’t vote right now, that doesn’t mean I don’t have a voice. I’m speaking from the perspective of someone who is scared and afraid for their future,” Lily Gardner, a 15-year-old student from Eastern Kentucky, told Refinery29 of why she joined a protest outside Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office. “It’s not a question of who knows more or who has been in the business for longer, it’s the question of who is going to be disproportionately impacted by climate change. When people don’t take me seriously, they are not taking my future seriously.” The “Green New Deal” has already received the endorsements of Democrat presidential candidates, like Senators Cory Booker…
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by Jason Hopkins A number of renewable energy executives and leaders have not completely embraced the Green New Deal, fearing the divisive proposal would cause more harm than good. Despite a seemingly huge benefit to their bottom line if the resolution were to be implemented, numerous executives working in the renewable energy sector expressed reservations when speaking to Reuters about the Green New Deal. The proposal, they argued, lacks feasibility and openly supporting it would likely upset half of the country. “If you just broadly endorse the Green New Deal, you are liable to upset one side of the aisle or the other. And that’s not constructive,” stated Tom Werner, the CEO of one of the country’s largest solar power companies, SunPower Corp. “The idea that you could go 100 percent (clean energy) in 10 years would require a lot of things happening perfectly, simultaneously.” Werner was far from the only renewable energy executive to draw distance from New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s signature proposal. “We love the enthusiasm the Green New Deal has brought to the climate issue … but we need to operate in political reality,” stated Dan Whitten, the Solar Energy Industries Association’s vice president…
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by Michael Bastasch Thousands of students will skip school Friday over global warming as part of an international movement backed by adult activists and based on a misreading of the latest United Nations climate report. In the U.S., strikers are calling “for the Green New Deal, for a fair and just transition to a 100% renewable economy, and for ending the creation of additional fossil fuel infrastructure,” according to the Youth Climate Strike website. Young activists say “inaction has left us with just 11 years to change the trajectory of the worst effects of climate change.” Isra Hirsi, the teenage daughter of Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, is one of the protest leaders. Her mother joined the planned strike for Washington, D.C.and tweeted in support of the climate protests, “We need to listen to the wisdom of our kids!” Monied environmental organizations are supporting the strikers, and The New York Times said “grown-ups should listen” to children protesters. So, what exactly are these children saying? “The rest of my life is literally on the line,” 17-year-old activist Feliquan Charlemagne told The Washington Post. “I’m going to have to grow up in this if we don’t take action and don’t turn…
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by Michael Bastasch House Republican lawmakers are asking Speaker Nancy Pelosi to hold hearings on the Green New Deal. “As the committees to which it has been referred, we have a responsibility to fully understand how the Green New Deal will affect the cost of living and economic mobility of hardworking,” 11 House GOP members wrote to Pelosi on Thursday. “Americans. We need to get to the facts, the American people deserve answers,” wrote lawmakers, including Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, Rob Bishop of Utah, Kevin Brady of Texas and Greg Walden of Oregon. Republicans also plan to hold a press conference Thursday to push their case, Axios reported. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is set to attend the press conference, signaling a coordinated effort to keep the Green New Deal at the forefront ahead of the 2020 elections. While the Green New Deal has been embraced by leftmost Democrats and a handful of 2020 presidential hopefuls, Democratic leadership has withheld overt support for the resolution. Moderate Democrats have distanced themselves from the resolution or, like West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, joined with Republicans to reject it altogether. The Green New Deal calls for aggressive goals of achieving “net-zero”…
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by Jarret Stepman Peddlers of the Green New Deal know that the only way for their radical agenda to become reality is if Americans buy into the wildest claims of climate extremists. It’s clear that some of the most enthusiastic supporters of this radical agenda are young people. This was on full display in the now viral video of a meeting between Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and a group of children from the Sunrise Movement. This is how @SenFeinstein reacted to children asking her to support the #GreenNewDeal resolution — with smugness + disrespect. This is a fight for our generation's survival. Her reaction is why young people desperately want new leadership in Congress. pic.twitter.com/0zAkaxruMI — Sunrise Movement 🌅 (@sunrisemvmt) February 22, 2019 Perhaps children and young Americans are more likely to buy into the extreme environmentalist doomsaying due to the fact that they weren’t around for the laughably wrong predictions of the past that never came true. Panics over looming environmental and climate apocalypse have been with us for a long time. Thomas Malthus famously predicted in his 1798 book “An Essay on the Principle of Population” that population growth would overtake food supply and mass starvation would…
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by Michael Bastach Former Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich said that while the Green New Deal might not be the right answer to global warming, “it’s asking the right question.” “But for all those problems, the Green New Deal is serving an important purpose by provoking a more vigorous level of public debate,” Kasich wrote in a USA Today op-ed published Monday. “We’ve finally reached a tipping point.” The Green New Deal, introduced by Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey in February, calls for sweeping changes that achieve “net-zero” emissions in 10 years. Some Democratic 2020 hopefuls endorse the bill, but many moderate Democrats are hesitant to embrace it on worries it’s not feasible to fundamentally transform society so quickly. Republicans oppose the bill’s massive government takeover of the economy. Kasich, who’s mulling a 2020 presidential run against President Donald Trump, wants moderates in both parties to come up with an alternative to the Green New Deal. “It’s time for free-market moderates on both sides of the aisle to come up with answers of their own,” Kasich wrote in his op-ed, embracing carbon pricing, fuel economy mandates and subsidies for electric vehicles. Kasich’s op-ed comes after the…
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by Michael Bastasch A rhetorical brawl over climate change broke out on the Senate floor as Democrats chided Republicans for criticizing the Green New Deal without proposing an alternative plan. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other GOP Senate colleagues took to the chamber’s floor to criticize the Green New Deal, ahead of a planned vote on the sweeping resolution to massively expand government control in the name of climate change. Democrats, however, are trying to turn the tables on Republicans to side-step being tied to the Green New Deal. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer chided GOP lawmakers for not offering their own climate policies. Schumer even interrupted GOP Texas Sen. John Cornyn to ask whether he believed “climate change is real” and ask him to say what policies he’s for, instead of what he’s against. “We know what he’s not for, what is he for?” Schumer said while Cornyn spoke on the Senate floor. “I’m not for socialism,” Cornyn responded. “I’m not for Washington, D.C., thinking they know better than what my constituents know.” I've been looking all over for it, but I still can't find the Republican plan to tackle climate change. When will they tell us…
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by Michael Bastasch For the cost of implementing the Green New Deal, the federal government could buy every American a brand new Ferrari luxury sports car, according to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. “For the comparatively cheap price of just $66 trillion I’m told the government could buy every American a Ferrari,” McConnell said on the Senate floor Wednesday. McConnell is basing this cost comparison against a recent report by the right-leaning American Action Forum (AAF) that estimated the cost of the Green New Deal to be as high as $93 trillion over ten years, or $653,000 per household. “What a great idea. But of course, everyone would have to get their drive in before Democrats ban the internal combustion engine,” McConnell quipped about buying every American a Ferrari. McConnell joined other Republican lawmakers who took to the Senate floor to criticize the Green New Deal, which calls for radically transforming the U.S. economy to fight global warming and dramatically expand welfare and “social justice” programs. “93 trillion is more than every dollar our federal government has spent in its entire history to date,” McConnell said, referring to the AAF report. “It’s more than the combined annual GDP of…
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by Anna Paulina The “new” socialism that is rapidly gaining adherents within the Democrat Party bears a striking resemblance to the totalitarian ideology that just drove oil-rich Venezuela to the point of mass starvation. They might not even realize it themselves, but beneath the facade of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s “democratic socialism” and Senator Bernie Sanders’ “Bernie bros” movement lies the same authoritarian spirit that animates every socialist experiment. American socialists and their liberal supporters tend to become extremely defensive when their ideology is compared to that of Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro, insisting they only wish to implement the variety of socialism that prevails in countries such as Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, despite those countries constantly telling Americans they are absolutely not socialist. Now that affairs in Venezuela have reached the breaking point and President Trump has put his foot down to call for the dictator Maduro’s departure, the Democrats’ socialist brigades are shifting gears and trying to downplay the brutality of that regime. Sanders, the godfather of contemporary “democratic-socialism” in the U.S., is refusing to say that the reign of Maduro and his increasingly violent band of Chavistas must end, but still ran afoul of his comrades by calling on the Venezuelan strongman to allow…
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by Michael Bastach Skeptics of global warming “catastrophe” have an extended an offer for Green New Deal champion New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to come and debate them. Retired statistics professor Dr. Caleb Rossiter offered a standing invitation for Ocasio-Cortez, and others who have attacked the CO2 Coalition, to come and debate climate science and energy policy. Taking a page from his early anti-war activism days, Rossiter put a piece of paper with Ocasio-Cortez’s name, and the names of other “alarmists,” on an empty chair next to panelists during a Friday panel at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Rossiter said anti-war activists would have empty chairs at events reserved for Defense Department officials who, though invited, would never show up. Ocasio-Cortez and Maine Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree recently went after big tech companies for sponsoring an event at LibertyCon, a conference put on by a libertarian student group, at which the CO2 Coalition also sponsored an event. Ocasio-Cortez and Pingree said tech companies’ “implicit” support for the CO2 Coalition was “dangerous to our society” because it allegedly spread misinformation about climate science. However, NASA attributes much of the observed “global greening” in the past 30 years to elevated CO2 levels. Rossiter,…
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Country Music singer John Rich made some interesting observations this week about New York Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the Green New Deal. “I think a lot of the sensible Democrats are scared to death of what she’s talking about because they all know that’s crazy talk,” Rich said on the talk show, Over-Caffeinated. The Beacon Center of Tennessee, a Nashville-based free market think tank, produces the online show. “To think that you could do away with all combustion engines in the next 10 years or 30 years. Let’s talk about our military. What are you going to do about the military? I think it shows a real naïveté on her part that she probably didn’t think this through before she put that down on paper. It’s one thing to sit in a bar, maybe, and discuss some crazy notion like that,” Rich said. “I have seen a lot of the Democrats, (Diane) Feinstein is a prime example, she has been in the Senate almost 40 years, and she said ‘That’s impossible. You can’t do that.’ And they don’t like the answer ‘You can’t do that.’” Rich is also a songwriter and one half of the music duo Big and…
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President Donald Trump delivered a raucous, rally-style speech during his appearance at the 2019 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Saturday where he let capacity crowd know how he felt about everything from the Robert Mueller Investigation and Hillary Clinton’s emails to the booming US economy and North Korea. During one of the president’s longest speech to date, Trump was not shy about telling the crowd how he honestly felt about the Mueller Investigation. “Unfortunately you put the wrong people in a couple of positions, and they leave people for a long time that should not be there and all of a sudden they’re trying to take you out with bullsh*t,” Trump said to the crowd. The president criticized Jeff Sessions’ lack of a role in the investigation. “Now Robert Mueller never received a vote, and neither did the person that appointed him,” Trump said in a southern accent. “As you know the attorney general says, ‘I’m going to recuse myself.’ And I said, ‘Why the hell didn’t he tell me that before I put him in?’” The Mueller Investigation was not the only thing that Trump critiqued. The president called asking Russia to get Hillary Clinton’s emails a “joke.” “If…
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by Andra Constantin Following the State of the Union address, I found the state of the nation surreal. I kept skimming past articles about the Democratic Party’s proposed economic stimulus packages, collectively known as the Green New Deal. They propose to fund unsustainable sectors like solar panels – which are already heavily government-backed – by targeting more self-sufficient industries, like meat production. In order to earmark raiding the cookie jar of productive businesses to fund those that aren’t paying for themselves, Democrats have to demonize the target in order to implement punitive measures such as meat taxes. I know the Green New Deal is based on non-truths and artfully doled misinformation, like the deforestation myth, but most people believe we are losing forest land in this country to the meat industry. That’s one of the lies told to them by our leaders in order to take advantage of the public support and vote. They need a mob to rob. A Bad New Deal How did we get to this choke point of punishing meat consumption, as one NJ radical animal rights activist senator proposes, in the form of a tax? I think I recognize a pendulum swinging back at me.…
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by Chris White Democrats are warning that some of the party’s biggest agenda pledges are destined to crash in the Senate, regardless of the 2020 election’s outcome. Medicare for All, a potential Green New Deal and a push for a $15 minimum wage would struggle to get past a Senate in which Republicans will maintain a great deal of influence, even if Democrats sweep the Senate and defeat President Donald Trump, according to some operatives Friday. It’s a problem of mathematics, Adam Jentleson, a former spokesman for former Democratic Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, told reporters Friday. “The Senate is going to make or break the progressive agenda in 2021, regardless of how well we do at the top of the ticket,” Jentleson said, adding that the best Democrats can hope for in 2020 is getting 52 Senate seats, which would require a Herculean effort. They will need to gain three seats to win a majority. Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado and Susan Collins of Maine are the only Republicans vying for re-election in states former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won in 2016. Arizona Sens. Martha McSally of Arizona and David Perdue of Georgia, meanwhile, are on the…
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by Michael Bastasch As Congress debates the Green New Deal, which calls for a massive increase in renewable energy use, new reports show wind energy “dropped off” as frigid Arctic air descended on the eastern U.S. earlier this year. “An earlier than expected drop in wind, primarily caused by cold weather cutoffs, increased risk of insufficiency for morning peak,” according to a report from the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), which oversees electricity delivery across 15 states. The wind power shortfall triggered a “maximum generation event” on the morning of Jan. 30 when temperatures plummeted, MISO reported Wednesday of its handling of the historic cold that settled over the eastern U.S. in late January. Unplanned power outages were higher than past polar vortex events, MISO reported, much of it because wind turbines automatically shut off in the cold. Coal and natural gas plants ramped up production to meet the shortfall and keep the lights on. “This what happens when the government starts mandating and subsidizing inferior energy sources,” Dan Kish, a distinguished senior fellow at the Institute for Energy Research, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. Kish, a Green New Deal opponent, said the proposal would “double down with…
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by Jason Hopkins Democrats may simply vote “present” if the Green New Deal resolution is put up for vote on the Senate floor, protecting members of their caucus from taking a public stance on the contentious resolution. “I’m still pondering it. A lot of Democrats may vote — we’ll see, but a lot of us may vote ‘present’on the cloture motion,” stated Delaware Democratic Sen. Tom Carper, who serves as the ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, according to E&E News on Monday. The possible strategy comes as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell looks to put the Green New Deal up for a vote sometime this week. GOP leadership, which has lampooned the resolution, want to use the vote to force Democrats into taking a public stance on the dramatic call for 100 percent renewable energy and other far-left proposals. Democrats, however, have criticized McConnell’s efforts, framing it as an attempt to torpedo progress. “We’re trying to make sure we have as consolidated a Democratic caucus as we can because this is not serious legislation,” Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse told reporters Monday. “This is just Leader McConnell trying to be mischievous and cause trouble,…
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by CHQ Staff Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has scheduled some comic entertainment for the Senate in the form of a debate and vote on the Democrats’ “Green New Deal” plan. The debate and vote are expected to come some time later this week. The “Green New Deal” was authored by freshman Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, (NY-14), and longtime global warming whacko Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts, it calls for ridding the nation of fossil fuels in the next few decades, among other dramatic environmental and economic changes. To give Americans some idea of the “dramatic environmental and economic changes” Democrats contemplate, the “Green New Deal” rollout included a fact sheet produced by Ocasio-Cortez’s staff that called for eliminating the need for air travel, retrofitting every house and building to green energy standards, and reforming the nation’s agricultural practices to eliminate cows. Practicing up for the coming debate, Socialist Rep. Ocasio-Cortez appeared on a Showtime comedy show last week and said, “We need to take a look at factory farming, and maybe we shouldn’t be eating a hamburger for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.” Socialist Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s calls to curb methane-producing cows and her proposal to end the alleged environmental…
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by Jason Hopkins Speaking at a “Girls Who Code” event in New York City, self-identified democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hit back against critics of her Green New Deal resolution. Ocasio-Cortez declares "I'm the Boss… How 'bout that!" while claiming that no one else has tried to come up with climate change policy before the Green New Deal. Apparently she's never seen @TheDemocrats policy platform… ever. This infighting is going to be fun to watch. pic.twitter.com/AV1TgRa5kU — Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) February 24, 2019 Ocasio-Cortez claimed that — regardless of success — the “power” goes to the individual who tries. “So people are like, ‘Oh it’s unrealistic. Oh it’s vague. Oh it doesn’t address this little minute thing,’ And I’m like, ‘You try. You do it. Cuz you’re not. Cuz you’re not. So, until you do it, I’m the boss.’ How ’bout that?’” Ocasio-Cortez introduced her Green New Deal resolution earlier in February alongside Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ed Markey. The bill not only calls for the U.S. to dramatically transition 100 percent transition in just a few years, but also demands “upgrading” every single building in the country, addressing the emissions released from cow farts, and touches a number of other progressive…
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by Michael Bastasch Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy says he has an answer to Democrats’ Green New Deal resolution that will grow the economy and cut greenhouse gas emissions — natural gas. Cassidy put forward a white paper Thursday making the case that private sector-led investments in natural gas extraction have allowed the U.S. to lead the world in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Cassidy wants to see that trend continue. “This is a pro-jobs approach to lowering greenhouse gas emissions,” Cassidy said in a statement. “Instead of pie-in-the-sky, feel-good pipe dreams, let’s do what data and science say actually works.” Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s and Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey’s recently introduced Green New Deal resolutions call for “meeting 100 percent of the power demand” with renewables and zero-emissions energy sources within 10 years. The World War II-style mobilization the bill calls for also includes retrofitting every building in the U.S. to be more energy efficient and also cutting emissions as much as possible from every sector of the economy. The Green New Deal also demands a slew of welfare programs, from universal health care to job guarantees, and outlines social justice goals. Republicans panned the plan…
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Several youth activism organizations gathered at the Minnesota Capitol Monday to protest the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline and call for a “Minnesota Green New Deal.” “We are changing the political landscape in Minnesota and although there is much more work to be done, we are so proud of what we have done. Youth voices matter, and we will continue to make that very clear to our state leaders this session,” a group called “Minnesota Can’t Wait” said in a statement. Video from Monday’s demonstration shows dozens of youth activists gathered in the State Capitol, holding signs that say, “We elected you, meet with us,” and “Minnesota Green New Deal.” “Even though they are not here right now, we’re going to make sure that they hear our message and that they hear our words, because they have to listen to us as public servants serving the state of Minnesota,” one speaker said during the event, referring to Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) and Lt. Gov Peggy Flanagan (D-MN). The following morning, Walz announced that he would refile an appeal against the Enbridge Line 3 replacement project, as The Minnesota Sun reported. “We are extremely glad that the governor has acknowledged the importance…
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by Julie Kelly The first contest of the 2020 primary season is one year away and the Democratic Party’s agenda now is coming into sharp focus: An income tax rate upwards of 70 percent, a Green New Deal that would send America back to the Stone Age, postpartum baby-killing, and the elimination of federal control over our southern border are just a few of the lowlights. Sprinkle that message with a heavy dose of anti-Semitic, anti-Christian, anti-white, anti-male rhetoric and voila! – Democratic presidential contenders are ready to swarm Iowa and New Hampshire. But another destructive sideshow now animates the Democrats ahead of next year’s elections: The multi-pronged, unprecedented and possibly unconstitutional investigation into President Trump. To satisfy the bloodlust of the party’s rank-and-file, still bitter about losing the 2016 presidential election and gobsmacked that Trump somehow remains in office, congressional leaders are seeking vengeance in the hearing rooms of Capitol Hill. Since taking the helm of powerful House committees last month, Democratic chairmen are wasting no time in probing every crevice of Trump World; no one, including the president’s family members, will be spared. Hundreds of New Investigations The government’s formal investigation into Donald Trump began in July 2016, when Barack Obama’s FBI launched a counterintelligence probe…
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by Chris White President Donald Trump’s campaign dinged Sen. Elizabeth Warren Saturday afternoon for being a “fraud” after the Massachusetts Democrat announced her intention to run for president. “Elizabeth Warren has already been exposed as a fraud by the Native Americans she impersonated and disrespected to advance her professional career, and the people of Massachusetts she deceived to get elected,” campaign manager Brad Parscale wrote in a statement. Warren announced her candidacy in a tweet on Saturday. He added: “The American people will reject her dishonest campaign and socialist ideas like the Green New Deal, that will raise taxes, kill jobs and crush America’s middle-class.” The statement appears designed to tie Warren in with lawmakers who pushed the so-called Green New Deal, a lofty proposal intended to reset a moribund climate change fight. INBOX: Trump campaign issues statement on Elizabeth Warren's announcement pic.twitter.com/lfIiMywemp — Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) February 9, 2019 The resolution, which is being pushed by Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, calls for “10-year national mobilizations” toward a series of goals aimed at fighting global warming, NPR reported. A separate fact sheet claims the plan would “mobilize every aspect of American society on a scale not seen…
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by Chris White Democratic Sen. Cory Booker appeared to compare adopting the so-called Green New Deal with fighting the Nazi regime. “Our planet is in peril, and we need to be bold,” Booker said at a Friday campaign event in Iowa. There are a lot of people who are critical of the deal. Critics claim “it’s too impractical, and it’s too expensive.” “And when the planet has been in peril in the past, who came forward to save Earth … from the scourge of Nazis and totalitarian regimes?” Booker asked rhetorically. “We came forward.” “We came forward with the Marshal Plan,” he added, referring to a U.S. program concocted during the 1940s to rebuild parts of German and other European countries bombed out during World War II. The GND, which was introduced Thursday by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, calls for a “10-year national mobilizations” toward a series of goals aimed at fighting global warming. A separate fact sheet published online claims the plan would “mobilize every aspect of American society on a scale not seen since World War 2.” Ocasio-Cortez’s original concept received support from Booker and other potential presidential candidates. The updated version, however, which was rolled out Thursday…
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Two of Minnesota’s most prominent politicians, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN-04), are backing the controversial Green New Deal, but Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) is conspicuously missing from the list of House sponsors. The House version of the resolution currently has 67 co-sponsors, including McCollum, who has received $52,733 in campaign contributions from environmental groups over the course of her career, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Klobuchar, who is expected to declare candidacy for president Sunday, is one of 10 co-sponsors of the Senate resolution, which has the backing of other presidential hopefuls, such as Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Cory Booker (D-NJ). The Center for Responsive Politics estimates that Klobuchar has received $220,463 from environmental groups throughout her career. Omar is a public ally of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14), the resolution’s chief author, and was an early advocate of the Green New Deal. Omar, however, currently isn’t listed as a co-sponsor of the resolution. She addressed her support of the Green New Deal in a statement Thursday, but seemed to take issue with the fact that it is just a resolution rather than actual legislation. “We need to…
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U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, not only endorses the controversial Green New Deal resolution — he’s co-sponsoring it. In a press release, Cohen said the New Deal of the 1930s that supposedly ended the Great Depression inspired Democratic lawmakers to propose the Green New Deal. “It contains a full employment initiative; investments in a transition to sustainable, non-carbon sources of energy; elimination of greenhouse gas emissions; and a commitment to addressing climate change as the existential threat it is,” Cohen said. As The Tennessee Star reported last week, New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez released the resolution that’s become a central part of the Democratic agenda, including backing from 2020 candidates. The “Green New Deal” resolution calls for “10-year national mobilizations” towards a series of goals aimed at fighting global warming, according to a copy of the bill obtained by NPR. A separate fact-sheet claims the plan would “mobilize every aspect of American society on a scale not seen since World War 2.” That includes getting all our energy needs from “clean, renewable, and zero-emission energy sources” by “dramatically expanding and upgrading existing renewable power sources.” Ocasio-Cortez’s non-binding resolution calls for a variety of social justice and welfare state goals, including “a family-sustaining…
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by Michael Bastasch Mandy Gunasekara served two years as a top Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) adviser, but now is leaving the government to be an advocate for President Donald Trump’s agenda. “There is a void out there of folks who can understand and have the pertinent experience to talk about the energy, environment and economic successes of the Trump administration,” Gunasekara told The Daily Caller News Foundation in an interview. “I was in the room when we were making these decisions and I know the why,” she added. Indeed, as the principal deputy assistant administrator to EPA’s air office, Gunasekara was “in the room” when the agency issued major rollbacks of Obama administration regulations, including the Clean Power Plan and fuel economy mandates. Gunasekara also worked with former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to convince Trump to stick to his campaign promise and withdraw from the Paris climate accord. She was one of the few political appointees in place at EPA in the early days of the administration, so she spent many nights putting together the legal and policy rationale for withdrawal. Trump announced withdrawal in June 2017. “It was just helping him make it happen as the president,” Gunasekara…
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by Michael Bastasch New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez released a resolution that outlines the “Green New Deal” that’s become a central part of the Democratic agenda, including backing from 2020 candidates. The “Green New Deal” resolution calls for “10-year national mobilizations” towards a series of goals aimed at fighting global warming, according to a copy of the bill obtained by NPR. A separate fact-sheet claims the plan would “mobilize every aspect of American society on a scale not seen since World War 2.” That includes getting all our energy needs from “clean, renewable, and zero-emission energy sources” by “dramatically expanding and upgrading existing renewable power sources.” Ocasio-Cortez’s non-binding resolution calls for a variety of social justice and welfare state goals, including “a family-sustaining wage, adequate family and medical leave, paid vacations and retirement security” and “high-quality health care” benefits for Americans. The resolution calls for “repairing historic oppression” among certain groups, including minorities, immigrants, women, low-income workers, indigenous people and youth collectively called “frontline and vulnerable communities.” The call to “promote justice and equity” among those groups is seen as one of the “Green New Deal’s” primary goals by its architects. The House resolution has more than 20 cosponsors,…
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Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) recently floated the idea of taxing America’s wealthiest citizens up to 90 percent in an interview with Yahoo News. “So there are a few things that we could do. One of them is that we could increase the taxes that people are paying who are the extremely wealthy in our communities” Omar said. “Seventy percent, 80 percent, we’ve had it as high as 90 percent.” The comments came in the context of a discussion about Omar’s support for the Green New Deal, a progressive climate change proposal put forward by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY-14). The proposal would convert the U.S. economy entirely to renewable sources of energy in 12 years and establish a universal basic income. It would, of course, require radical tax hikes on America’s wealthiest. During a recent 60 Minutes interview, Ocasio-Cortez welcomed the “radical” label, telling host Anderson Cooper that “if that’s what radical means, [then] call me a radical.” “There’s an element where, yeah, people are going to have to start paying their fair share in taxes,” she said. “You know, you look at our tax rates back in the ‘60s, and when you have a progressive tax rate system, your…
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