AOC Wins: Joe Biden Embraces The Green New Deal

June 4, 2019

Last month, we warned that Joe Biden was on the cusp of embracing the eco-agenda of the far-left. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had aimed her fire at Biden, blasting him for considering a “middle ground” environmental plan.

Now, Joe Biden has officially caved to Ocasio-Cortez.

After being slammed by his rivals for not speaking during a gathering of leftists in San Francisco over the weekend, Joe Biden decided to release his environmental plan this morning, and it’s a dream come true for Ocasio-Cortez and the eco-left. The Washington Post reports that Biden is “embracing the framework of the Green New Deal.”

Biden’s plan, while short on details, is in lockstep with the “Green New Deal.” It “adopts the rhetoric” and “many of the actual policy proposals” of the “Green New Deal,” including forcing net-zero carbon emissions, banning drilling in the Arctic, rejoining the Paris accords, and ending new oil and gas permits on public lands.

The cost? A whopping $1.7 trillion.

The eco-left is ecstatic at Biden’s decision to join their ranks. Varshini Prakash, co-founder of Sunrise Movement, the extremist group rallying an “army” to support the “Green New Deal,” called Biden’s turn to the eco-left “a major victory.”

For a candidate appealing to the broad center, this is a disastrous move.

Biden’s decision to embrace the “Green New Deal” means that Biden can no longer credibly claim to be a moderate. When Biden set up his campaign headquarters in the swing state of Pennsylvania and pitched himself as the “kid from Scranton,” most assumed that Biden would try to dominate the moderate lane during the primary by billing himself as a blue-collar champion.

This is a sign that he’s decided to change his strategy. The “Green New Deal” is anything but moderate – it would eliminate entire sectors of the economy, and in Pennsylvania alone, the third-largest coal-producing state in the nation, it would eliminate nearly 5,000 coal jobs. The “Green New Deal” puts blue-collar jobs right in its sights.

Instead of attacking a thriving energy industry and the countless hardworking Americans it supports, the left should be recognizing their contribution and protecting reliable American jobs.

We’re keeping a close eye on where all of the 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls stand on the Green New Deal and other pressing energy issues. Our scorecard will keep you up-to-date.