From the Daily Caller
Nick Pope
Contributor
Vice President Kamala Harris is tight-lipped about her record on climate change, while major green groups continue to support her regardless — something political and energy experts tell The Daily Caller News Foundation Dynamics are not accidental.
Harris, who called climate change an “existential threat” in 2019 and previously investigated Big Oil as California's attorney general and co-sponsored the Green New Deal as a senator, has mostly avoided climate change on the campaign trail and green energy. Energy experts and political strategists told DCNF that many major ecological activist groups are still supporting her, a sign that Harris is working to broaden her appeal to more moderate voters to win the election and govern as a climate hardliner once in office.
“Democrats have figured out that an apocalyptic atmosphere is unlikely to get people on board with this particular journey,” Mike McKenna, a Republican strategist with extensive energy industry experience, told DCNF. “So, they obviously made the decision To make a command decision, focus only on the carrot and ignore anything that looks like a stick.” (Related: Harris campaign says Kamala has changed, but will she bring California's climate agenda to the White House?)
Harris and her running mate, Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, campaigned on climate issues, but eco-activist leaders were generally unconcerned about the lack of attention to the issue, according to the New York Times. Walz did not address climate change during his speech at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night, mostly sticking to his background as a rural American.
Even as the Harris campaign withdraws her previous support for a fracking ban, many environmental groups opposed to fracking still support her candidacy. The campaign's apparent strategy to focus less on climate change “suggests that Democrats believe talking about the environment in this election cycle is a lose-lose proposition,” The Washington Post reported Thursday.
“They know what she's going to do. Talking about climate doesn't do any good,” Steve Milloy, senior legal fellow at the Energy and Environmental Law Institute, told DCNF. “Keep in mind, I believe it was in July 2022, there was a New York Times poll that showed only 1% of voters prioritized climate. So it’s a loser’s issue… and they can’t afford to lose. Pennsylvania. So, they don't want to talk about climate, because when you talk about climate, you have to talk about fracking, and then they're going to have to talk about how she wants to stop fracking, no matter what she says.”
Democratic Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who has pursued one of the most aggressive state-level climate agendas in the country during his tenure as governor, recently told The New York Times that he didn’t think Harris needed to be leveraged on the campaign trail Her climate record.
“I'm not worried,” Inslee told the New York Times. “I have every confidence that when she can bring about positive change, she will.”
Additionally, the political arms of three green groups — the League of Conservation Voters, Climate Power, and the Environmental Defense Fund — are spending $55 million on ads in swing states to promote Harris, but the first three ads released don’t actually address climate Change issues. The ads return to the theme of green energy and promote Harris' record on the issue, which focuses on protecting ordinary Americans from greedy corporations and promoting “advanced manufacturing and clean energy” as a way to help the middle class. means.
This approach differs from the one used by Harris when she first ran for president in the 2020 cycle, where she sought to outflank many of her Democratic opponents from the left by supporting policies such as a carbon tax, changing dietary guidelines to reduce red meat consumption, and banning Plastic straws to supplement fracking bans.
CNN political strategist and on-air expert Scott Jennings told DCNF that eco-activists and climate-focused voters “definitely believe she's going to go left, left, left on climate and energy.” . “Of course they know. What they are counting on is her 2020 campaign agenda. I think if she wins, she will contribute to them. (Related: ‘Border czar’ Kamala Harris once blamed mass immigration surge on ‘lack of climate adaptation’)
President Joe Biden also reportedly made climate a key aspect of his successful 2020 campaign, pledging that he would end fossil fuels and calling former President Donald Trump a “climate arsonist” for failing to protect Americans Protect yourself from the “devastations of climate change.” Still, Biden and his top officials regularly draw the ire of hardline climate activists even as the administration pursues what it calls “the most ambitious climate agenda in history.”
Harris cast the decisive vote in the Senate to secure passage of Biden's signature climate bill, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), in 2022. The IRA has unleashed hundreds of billions of dollars in private and public spending on green energy and manufacturing projects, even though its prices have risen sharply from initial estimates and some argue the bill actually fueled inflation.
The Biden-Harris administration touted the investment as evidence that its domestic agenda is working.
“Climate activists in the Democratic Party are finally realizing that no one believes their ‘climate emergency’ rhetoric anymore or that they have 5, 10 or 20 years to ‘save the planet.’ Instead, they A series of stupid economic propositions are being pursued that somehow funnel hundreds of billions and now trillions of dollars into government central planning projects,” Climate Warehouse publisher Marc Morano told DCNF. “This new climate message from Democrats, in which they make no mention of climate, is part of the legacy of the Inflation Reduction Act, which gave local communities and certain states access to unlimited federal funds through taxpayers to create a ‘green economy.’ ” (Related: Prominent pollster says Donald Trump could end Kamala's campaign with a 'cross question')
Len Foxwell, a Democratic strategist in Maryland, said the Harris campaign deliberately lacked focus on climate change and green energy issues because she will need the support of a broad coalition if she wants to win in November.
“First and foremost, Kamala Harris's responsibility in this race is to win. To do that, she must speak in a way that resonates with those who care about the economy and are frustrated with their own financial situations. specifically, she must emphasize opportunities for better jobs, higher wages and long-term cost savings for taxpayers,” Foxwell told DCNF. “This is particularly important when discussing investment in renewable energy, as the upfront costs tend to be considerable and the economic benefits to the middle class are largely speculative.”
As the Democratic presidential nominee, Harris “must communicate her vision and values in a way that appeals to the broadest possible coalition,” although it remains to be seen how she will actually govern if elected, given the uncertainty about the future balance of power. . He added that Harris and her team must be careful not to propose policies that would increase the cost of living for middle-class Americans, which would be “third rail” politics given concerns about the economy.
The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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