Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell carefully crafted a trap for Democrats supporting the Green New Deal by bringing to the floor a procedural vote on Tuesday that would have allowed the legislation to move forward. Said McConnell the day before: “The American people will see. They’ll see which senators are so fully committed to radical left-wing ideology that they can’t even vote ‘no’ on self-inflicted economic ruin that would take a sledgehammer to America’s middle class.”
As he anticipated, none of them manned up enough to vote for it, including co-sponsors of the legislation Senators Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.). Instead, 43 of them voted “present” (with four joining the Republicans who voted unanimously to end the discussion before it even got started. Markey called the vote a “sham” while Gillibrand called it “a political stunt.” House Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called the vote “a mockery,” a “political act,” and a “political stunt.” The vote was 57-0.
Schumer added, “What’s the point of [this vote] other than showing how hypocritical this act is?” without realizing that that is precisely what the lopsided rejection of Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez’s radical proposal revealed: Those in favor of AOC’s plan (many of them running for their party’s nomination for president in 2020 and making it part of their platforms) refused to vote for it, covering themselves with glory by voting “present” instead.
Three Democrats and one Independent — Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), Doug Jones (D-Ala.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Senator Angus King (I-Maine) — joined the Republicans in rejecting moving ahead with consideration of the bill.
Senator Schumer put the best face possible upon the public exposure of the liberal hypocrisy, claiming that at least it brought the concept of anthropological climate change to the public’s attention: “We Democrats are on offense. We’re feeling really good about where we’re moving.”
The Green New Deal is, as McConnell expressed, a “Democrat effort to re-brand all the far-left wish list [that originated] with the most radical, farthest-left members of the new House Democrat majority.”
The Green New Deal would end the country’s reliance on fossil fuels within 10 years, would require massive upgrading of the country’s power grids and existing buildings for maximum energy efficiency, would require overhauling of the country’s transportation systems, and would guarantee a job and healthcare to every American.
It would also cost $93 trillion to implement, according American Action Forum, or 19 times the federal government’s annual budget.
This was so far out in left field that Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) couldn’t resist mocking it. He opened his remarks on the floor, saying “After reading the Green New Deal, I’m afraid of not being able to get through this speech with a straight face.” He said the Green New Deal would eliminate airplanes, suggesting that Hawaii could only be reached by passengers riding sea horses. Standing next to a large cartoon image of Aquaman riding a sea horse, Lee said, “Under the Green New Deal, this is probably Hawaii’s best bet.” On a roll, Lee added: “A massive fleet of giant, highly trained sea horses would be cool, it would really be awesome. But we have no idea about scalability or domestic capacity.”
He couldn’t resist taking a shot at AOC’s claim that, unless something was done about climate change immediately, people shouldn’t plan on having children. Lee said, “The solution to climate change is not this unserious resolution we’re considering … but rather the serious solution to human flourishing. The solution to so many of our problems at all times and in all places is to fall in love, get married, and have some kids.”
Senator Roy Blunt, a Republican from Missouri, called the Democrats out for their hypocrisy: “I’ve never seen a bill sponsored by a dozen people who don’t want to vote for it!”
AOC’s Green New Deal isn’t likely to fare much better in the Democrat-controlled House now that the hypocrisy label has been so firmly tatooed on Democrats in the Senate.
An Ivy League graduate and former investment advisor, Bob is a regular contributor to The New American, writing primarily on economics and politics. He can be reached at [email protected].
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