A Split In The California Democratic Party Over The Green New Deal

There has been a lot of talk how Biden is the only viable candidate-- meaning Frackenlooper and Delaney are not viable, just Fox News trolls at this point-- who has not taken a position on the Green New Deal. And how he's the only 2020 candidate who has refused to sign the No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge. Well, that's not actually true. Trump has also refused to sign the No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge-- Trump and Biden. In terms of the presidential candidates these 15 have signed on to the Green New Deal:

• Bernie
• Elizabeth Warren
• Marianne Williamson
• Jay Inslee
• Kamala Harris
• Tulsi Gabbard
• Cory Booker
• McKinsey Pete
• Julian Castro
• Bill de Blasio
• Amy Klobuchar
• Eric Swalwell
• Andrew Yang
• Seth Moulton
• Kirsten Gillibrand

Seven more wishy-washy and conservative candidates have come out and admitted they oppose the Green New Deal, although Beto goes back and forth on this depending on who asks the question and who the audience is. These are the 7 who want to let oil company profits determine whether or not humanity survives:

• John Delaney
• Frackenlooper
• Michael Bennet
• Steve Bullock
• Tim Ryan
• Beto
• Messam

And that leaves Biden... still refusing take a position, perhaps not really even understanding, any more than Trump does, how crucial, how existential, this is. And, no Mr. Obama's Rib, the answer is not, "we'll rejoin the Paris accords."

This past weekend, the California Democratic Party-- which was boycotted by Biden-- passed a strong Green New Deal Resolution, the strongest of the 5 submitted for consideration and endorsed AOC's congressional Green New Deal resolution.

WHEREAS climate change represents an existential threat to humanity, which must reduce greenhouse gas emissions 45 percent by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050 if the world is to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius; and

WHEREAS California is uniquely vulnerable to climate change devastation, as witnessed by drought-worsened wildfires (including the recent Camp Fire, Tubbs Fire, Mendocino Complex Fire, and Thomas Fire) with tragic human and economic consequences, and is equally vulnerable to sea level rise, atmospheric rivers causing inland flooding, and other impacts; and

WHEREAS a Green New Deal calls for net zero greenhouse gas emissions within a very short time frame; creating millions of good jobs; investing in the infrastructure and industry of the United States; securing clean air and water, climate and community resilience, healthy food, and access to nature for all; and promoting justice and equity with respect to frontline communities, all while ensuring a just transition for workers in the fossil fuel and related industries will enable the United States to become carbon neutral, while in the process virtually eliminating poverty and making economic security available to every American;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the California Democratic Party demands a California Green New Deal to achieve the above goals, with hiring preferences for formerly incarcerated and socially and/or economically disadvantaged peoples; ramps up the deployment of building and vehicle electrification and zero-net, carbon-free infrastructure; transitions California away from extraction and refining of fossil fuels; creates substantial setbacks separating fossil fuel extraction from residential communities; upgrades America's buildings for efficiency and safety; adopts low-carbon, plant-based food, and small-scale and organic farming; expand affordable housing close to jobs; involves labor unions' leadership role in the process of job training and worker deployment; creates a network of public banks to finance infrastructure; respects Indigenous rights; ensures that local implementation of the transition from fossil fuels is led from the community level; and ensures that frontline communities affected by environmental justice are given priority to mitigate poor planning and zoning decisions of the past; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this resolution be sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom, Senate ProTem Toni Atkins, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, with instructions to draft legislation in keeping with the scale and urgency of the climate crisis.

There are 28 California congressmembers already co-sponsoring the resolution-- although that leaves 16 who are not, including former progressive Nancy Pelosi. These are the California cosponsors:

• Ted Lieu
• Barbara Lee
• Ro Khanna
• Mike Levin- only freshman with the guts to do what he promised the voters last year
• Mark DeSaulnier
• Judy Chu
• Nanette Barragan
• Alan Lowenthal
• Maxine Waters
• Jared Huffman
• Jimmy Gomez
• Karen Bass
• Doris Matsui
• Linda Sanchez
• Mark Takano
• Eric Swalwell
• Zoe Lofgren
• Jackie Speier
• Grace Napolitano
• Adam Schiff
• Mike Thompson
• Salud Carbajal
• Juan Vargas
• Anna Eshoo
• Jimmy Panetta
• Brad Sherman
• John Garamendi
• Pete Aguilar

The Californians not co-sponsoring the Green New Deal are below. I wonder if any of them will change their minds now that the official Democratic Party-- which pointedly did not re-endorse Dianne Feinstein when she was up for reelection in 2018-- is urging passage. I doubt it.

• Ami Bera (New Dem)
• Jerry McNerney
• Nancy Pelosi
• Jim Costa (Blue Dog)
• TJ Cox, freshman
• Katie Hill (New Dem), freshman
• Julia Brownley (New Dem)
• Tony Cárdenas (New Dem)
• Raul Ruiz (New Dem)
• Gil Cisneros (New Dem), freshman
• Lucille Roybal-Allard
• Katie Porter, freshman
• Lou Correa (Blue Dog)
• Harley Rouda (New Dem), freshman
• Scott Peters (New Dem)
• Susan Davis (New Dem)

Who got boo-ed at the convention last weekend?