The Green New Deal was devised for good reasons.
Before the 2018 election season ramped up, people wanted to stimulate populist constituencies – including those who were not yet active in the climate movement – to start supporting bold climate actions. For this purpose – and to generate support from the labor movement and from areas that needed jobs – a federal jobs program made sense.
Now people do understand at a visceral level that we need bold actions for the climate AND youth organizing such as the climate strikes AND grassroots organizing to meet the needs of local communities, including creating jobs and protecting local environments in local communities. The Green New Deal puts the pieces together into a WIN-WIN-WIN solution all around. It is a smart way to build a huge coalition that is diverse in many geographic and demographic ways.
The public appreciates President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, so this is a way to tap into that reservoir of public support and bring that kind of bold federal thinking and action up to date for our current time. The New Deal helped the U.S. get out of the Great Depression, and the Green New Deal can help the U.S. solve several of our current problems.
The right wing and parts of the Establishment are attacking the Green New Deal, so we need to debunk their propaganda. Besides debunking the propaganda directly, we need to put much more strategy and effort into being proactive and building a solid case and a huge, powerful coalition to enact the Green New Deal.
See some smart, informative articles below:
A ‘Green Stimulus’ Could Battle Three Crises: Coronavirus, Economic Injustice and Climate Emergency. See this article:
Some opponents claim that the Green New Deal is expensive. Actually it is CHEAPER THAN FAILING TO ENACT IT. See this article:
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/why-the-green-new-deal-is-cheap-actually-965794/
This article from August 2019 is worth reading now, even if you missed it then. It explains Bernie Sanders’ proposal for a Green New Deal:
https://www.vox.com/2019/8/22/20827396/bernie-sanders-2020-climate-policy-green-new-deal
This article by Juan Cole explains why the Russian petro-state is actually terrified of a Bernie Sanders Presidency. Bernie would push for the Green New Deal:
https://www.juancole.com/2020/02/actually-terrified-presidency.html
Naomi Klein explains in her new book that a Green New Deal is our only hope against climate catastrophe:
Nearly all of Washington State’s members of Congress FAIL TO SUPPORT the Green New Deal. Thanks to Representatives Jayapal and Smith. WE MUST PUSH THE OTHERS HARDER. In August 2019 I posted to my blog some information about the legislation sponsored by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ed Markey. This legislation is very wise and progressive. It deserves our strong support. See what I posted to my blog in August 2019 to urge more Congressional support: http://parallaxperspectives.org/the-green-new-deal-would-be-good-in-many-ways
