The U.S. Senate\u2019s cheater-in-chief, Mitch McConnell, used all his undemocratic guile to rush the Green New Deal to a vote on whether to even debate the issue. All 53 Republicans, three Democrats, and one independent voted against the measure. Realizing the futility of their position, 47 Democrats voted present.<\/p>\n
McConnell\u2019s argument against the plan to switch to carbon-free, renewable energy sources was absurd and reflective of incredible ignorance. He said it would \u201cbasically outlaw the only sources of energy that working-class and middle-class families can actually afford\u201d by adding more than $300 to monthly electric bills.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s long been well-known that renewable energy sources are much cheaper than coal and the only way natural gas can stay competitive is with dangerous extraction techniques like fracking that jeopardize our water table and release the powerful greenhouse gas methane into the atmosphere.<\/p>\n
The leading climate change denier in the White House encouraged McConnell to hurry the vote so he could establish it as a campaign issue in 2020. Bring it on, Donnie! Sixty percent of Americans know climate change is real and caused by human activity.<\/p>\n
The only Democratic presidential candidate opposed to the Green New Deal is our own former governor, former oil and gas employee, and current oil and gas lackey John Hickenlooper. His problem with the legislation is it \u201cshuns the private sector.\u201d<\/p>\n
What that means is it disrespects our corporate masters and we all know we mustn\u2019t do that. We can strike a blow for the climate cause by making sure Hickenlooper gets clobbered in the 2020 Colorado presidential primary.<\/p>\n
Fred Malo Jr.<\/p>\n
Carbondale<\/p>\n