Senator Elissa Slotkin is a rising star in the Democratic Party, and was selected to deliver the response to this year’s State of the Union address from the President.
Slotkin held a blue seat in a state that went red last year, after winning consecutive terms as a congressperson in a Mid Michigan swing district.
She has a background as a CIA intelligence analyst, and seems like a good fit in a long line of solid Michigan senators, going back to Phil Hart, Carl Levin, Debbie Stabenow, and Gary Peters, who will be retiring after this term.
Clearly she is seizing the moment as a bit of a leadership vacuum exists in an evolving Democratic Party. The clips here are from a longer speech delivered last week at the Center for American Progress.
At top, her take on climate. “We need to expand the coalition working to mitigate climate change.” She knocks what she calls “purity tests” on the part of climate activists – something we have seen in recent elections, as far left climate activists trashed Kamala Harris and the Biden administration for not doing enough, despite the most comprehensive and effective program ever passed in the Inflation Reduction Act – thereby helping deliver the election for the fossil fuel industry.
I spend most of my time working with allies who are often conservative Republicans, who often are not on board with climate science, but want those solar panels or wind turbines on their land. I learned early on not to lead with climate science, but rather with the practical and very real benefits that clean energy is bringing to farmers, and to the communities where they live.
Having these conversations, and building relationships based on transparency, trust, and respect, rather than mandatory agreement on all points, is one of the most important aspects of my work.
Below, Slotkin’s energy take is similar. Purists may quibble about her making room for fossil gas, but it is factual that gas will be with us for a few decades yet, and we need to come prepared to be pragmatic, take the wins in solar, wind, and batteries, and be confident that markets are going to continue to select those based on price and performance, as they have for half a decade now, overwhelmingly.