Democrats divided on Green New Deal

By Henry Rodgers

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Democrats in the U.S. Senate are divided over the “Green New Deal,” making the likelihood of the legislation passing slim, The Daily Caller News Foundation has learned.

The “Green New Deal” has sown division among Democratic senators, many of whom question the practicality of the resolution. The proposed legislation, introduced by Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, aims to tackle climate change and other environmental concerns, but it comes at an expense.

Wikimedia Commons/Senate Democrats

The Green New Deal is being put forward by Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

Enacting the bill would require significant financial resources, which has caused concern for a number of Democratic senators, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California.

“At this stage, I am not a supporter of it because it’s been looked at very cursorily and if you read the language, it’s a very big program with a huge governmental cost,” Feinstein said to TheDCNF. “None of that’s been looked at.”

Other senators mentioned their disapproval for the legislation, saying they believe there are more realistic ways to combat climate change.

“It’s an aspirational document. We have to do something about the existential threat of climate change,” Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin told TheDCNF.

Other senators, including Minnesota Democrat and 2020 hopeful Amy Klobuchar and Alabama Democrat Doug Jones, also remained noncommittal on the question of whether they will support the package.

“I don’t know. I haven’t talked to Senator Schumer or McConnell about that,” said Klobuchar.

Jones reiterated this sentiment: “I haven’t looked at all the details. I just need to look at it. I don’t know when it’s going to be brought from the floor yet. I just don’t know at this point.”

Despite some Democrats outright dismissing the package in its current form as impractical, others, including several 2020 contenders gave it their full endorsement.

For example, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand was no-holds-barred in her support for the resolution. When asked by TheDCNF if she would be supporting the Green New Deal, without hesitation Gillibrand responded, “Of course I am!”

Other Senate Democrats who approved of the legislation were Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a co-sponsor, Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, who is also a co-sponsor, and Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow.

“Well the principles in terms of tackling new energy jobs and climate change are very, very important. So it’s a broad set of goals of where we’d like to go,” Stabenow told TheDCNF.

Stir among the Democrats squanders the chances of the bill passing, with Republicans all likely to vote no on the measure.

“First of all, I don’t even think all the Democrats will vote for it,” Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley told TheDCNF. “So obviously, then, it doesn’t go any place.” Grassley also said the “it’s very unrealistic,” mentioning Democrats desire to cut back air travel.

When asked if the legislation was likely to pass the Senate, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told TheDCNF, “I hope not!”

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Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Senate Democrats

5 thoughts on “Democrats divided on Green New Deal

  1. AOC is discussing ways to spend the billions of tax breaks, that were saved by Amazon not locating in NY. Ummmm, money was lost, not saved.

    • Hey Matt come on now, She Guevara is a boston collage economics master mind.
      She can make 3billion appear where there was never 3billion. Seriously the brain dead bar tender is sure showing her stupidity if she thinks a Tax break is Money given, 3billion tax deferment on 27.5billion tax amazon would have paid. but hey she’s smarter then most leftarded progressives.

  2. The one’s not on board with this Commie take over of the Gov
    “Green S☭rew Deal” just haven’t figured out how to get their cut yet..(well except for feinstein who’s a Chinese mole)

    The enlightened dim bulbs who propose this fools plan don’t explain how we
    get juice if there’s no wind and no sun. ’cause without frack gas, coal, petro and most importantly NUKES there is no juice.

    Ironically VT could have been locked in all the power we needed from Hydro Canada when they were developing it. Some how the early leftards of VT convince the Montpeculiarites that Hydro was screwing over some Indians land though they were getting paid handsomely for said land.

  3. Thé dividing line is between sanity and insanity.

    The Fantasy Green New Deal with 87% of electricity from wind and solar, and banning oil, coal, gas, bio fuels, and nuclear, would need an 800 TWh battery to ensure electrical service 24/7/365, so the wonderful high speed trains will run on time in California and elsewhere.

    That battery would cost, are you sitting down?, $320 TRILLION, at $400/kWh, and about $80 TRILLION at the Holy Grail price of $100/kWh.

    It is amazing no energy systems analyst were consulted while those neo-socilalist fantisizers hatched their GND

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