3 thoughts on “Biden Climate Advisor on “Gut Wrenching Effects” of Climate Change”
What can the Democrats do?
Declare this emergency an emergency.
Pack the Supreme Court with progressives.
Pack all the courts with progressives.
Make sure the executive branch & Post Office never buy another ICEV, by signing 30 year exclusive contracts with EV makers, especially Tesla (while pressuring them to allow unions, etc.) Fire DeJoy (indirectly).
Subsidize rapid renewable energy, EVs, efficiency, electrification, in ways that provide cheap energy, efficiency, electrical things & cars to people of all income levels. It will be hard to take those away once people have them or expect to, even from the “keep your government hands off my Medicare” crowd.
The most intermittent thing about solar & wind has been the subsidies, making it extremely hard for companies to plan ahead or keep a steady increase going or have a stable or steadily increasing trained work force. Do the same to the fossil fuel industry. Drastically chop subsidies & externalities whenever Democrats are in power.
You’re describing a political system where either: a) a representative democracy where Democrats are the vast majority in Congress (say, 2/3 majority) and for Presidential elections for the majority of the time over decades, or b) some sort of authoritarian state where a dominant party represses all others and only enacts its own agenda.
The Democrats in the country we actually live in now can’t do even a little of what your describe above. You blame them for this, and in isolated ways this is justified, but it’s the voters who keep electing Republicans (and yes, of course, the master manipulators and propagandists of the right) on a roughly 50% balance who are largely to blame. It keeps Congress in a stalemate, Presidents have their hands tied, and judges can’t be replaced as easily as you suggest.
There are certainly corrupt Democrats, but there are many Democrats also really trying to do what they can on environmental and social issues – which isn’t much at all when it comes down to it. The will of the people is needed – and that hasn’t happened yet (and historically, has only happened after rare and extreme events like the Great Depression).
I’d love to see a world or live in a country where most people care about each other and nature and vote that way, but we live in one where in just few months a convicted felon, rapist, insurrectionist might win one state too many (very possibly Michigan) in our screwed up electoral system (while the Democrats carry the overall popular vote, again), and/or more voters support Republicans in Congress – and if either of these happen the Democrats will once again be powerless to do anything substantial.
The Democrats could have done most or all of that with the power they’ve had at various times. And they’d have had vastly more power for decades if they’d embraced a progressive agenda in all things & stuck with it when they had power. (They’ve repeatedly put forth reasonably progressive agendas when they have no ability to pass them, only to abandon every bit of it except for 1 pet project to fool people with, whenever they do have power.) Though not as nihilistic as the Republicans they are clearly just the other right wing of the oligarchic duopoly party of the empire.
What can the Democrats do?
Declare this emergency an emergency.
Pack the Supreme Court with progressives.
Pack all the courts with progressives.
Make sure the executive branch & Post Office never buy another ICEV, by signing 30 year exclusive contracts with EV makers, especially Tesla (while pressuring them to allow unions, etc.) Fire DeJoy (indirectly).
Subsidize rapid renewable energy, EVs, efficiency, electrification, in ways that provide cheap energy, efficiency, electrical things & cars to people of all income levels. It will be hard to take those away once people have them or expect to, even from the “keep your government hands off my Medicare” crowd.
The most intermittent thing about solar & wind has been the subsidies, making it extremely hard for companies to plan ahead or keep a steady increase going or have a stable or steadily increasing trained work force. Do the same to the fossil fuel industry. Drastically chop subsidies & externalities whenever Democrats are in power.
You’re describing a political system where either: a) a representative democracy where Democrats are the vast majority in Congress (say, 2/3 majority) and for Presidential elections for the majority of the time over decades, or b) some sort of authoritarian state where a dominant party represses all others and only enacts its own agenda.
The Democrats in the country we actually live in now can’t do even a little of what your describe above. You blame them for this, and in isolated ways this is justified, but it’s the voters who keep electing Republicans (and yes, of course, the master manipulators and propagandists of the right) on a roughly 50% balance who are largely to blame. It keeps Congress in a stalemate, Presidents have their hands tied, and judges can’t be replaced as easily as you suggest.
There are certainly corrupt Democrats, but there are many Democrats also really trying to do what they can on environmental and social issues – which isn’t much at all when it comes down to it. The will of the people is needed – and that hasn’t happened yet (and historically, has only happened after rare and extreme events like the Great Depression).
I’d love to see a world or live in a country where most people care about each other and nature and vote that way, but we live in one where in just few months a convicted felon, rapist, insurrectionist might win one state too many (very possibly Michigan) in our screwed up electoral system (while the Democrats carry the overall popular vote, again), and/or more voters support Republicans in Congress – and if either of these happen the Democrats will once again be powerless to do anything substantial.
The Democrats could have done most or all of that with the power they’ve had at various times. And they’d have had vastly more power for decades if they’d embraced a progressive agenda in all things & stuck with it when they had power. (They’ve repeatedly put forth reasonably progressive agendas when they have no ability to pass them, only to abandon every bit of it except for 1 pet project to fool people with, whenever they do have power.) Though not as nihilistic as the Republicans they are clearly just the other right wing of the oligarchic duopoly party of the empire.