Dear MoveOn member,
This morning, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ed Markey released their broad and visionary Green New Deal to tackle the climate crisis—which calls for a complete shift to renewable energy in the next 10 years—and now it is up to us to build public support for this lifesaving, paradigm-shifting legislation.1
This bill does not come a moment too soon. The most recent report released last October by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change noted we have only 12 years to make urgent and unprecedented changes in order to avoid a climate catastrophe.2
And yet, many in Congress—including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi—have balked at the Green New Deal or called for less-ambitious changes.3 But this is no time for incremental change; it is time for big, bold ideas that face this urgent threat head-on.
When Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and the youth-led Sunrise Movement pushed this demand into the national spotlight in November, MoveOn was among the first organizations to echo the call, and we are ready to go big to push the Green New Deal onto center stage in our political discourse this year and in the lead-up to the 2020 election.
What happens in the next days and weeks could help determine if tackling climate change becomes a core issue for Democrats and progressives—which is why it's imperative we amplify the Green New Deal loud and clear, pull in more sponsors, make it central to the Democrats' governing vision, and ensure it pushes a climate debate in the political season to come.
Here is what we are ready to do to amplify Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Markey's visionary measure:
- Working with our Video Lab team to produce powerful videos in support of the Green New Deal. MoveOn's Video Lab has already produced multiple videos about the Green New Deal that have been viewed millions of times, and we will continue to create persuasive, fact-based videos about our climate crisis, boost them across social media and with ads, and make sure millions more see them.
- Flooding Congress with calls in support of the bill. Our representatives need to know that we want the Green New Deal to be a central piece of legislation that they advocate for, and that as constituents we demand immediate action on climate change.
- Developing powerful stickers and social media graphics to show our support. Imagine hundreds of thousands of bumper stickers calling for action on climate change on cars, bikes, computers, and notebooks in districts across the country—so many that when members of Congress are at home, they cannot make it to their office without seeing one. This will be a powerful, visible reminder of the deep support for this bill across the country.
- Using our megaphone to call for 2020 candidates to support the legislation. MoveOn is already well underway with planning for the 2020 primary and election, which will include events with candidates and multiple opportunities for MoveOn members to share what is important to us. Using our grassroots power, we will make the Green New Deal a central part of that conversation.
Here's the sad truth: There is almost no way that Donald Trump and the Republicans in the Senate will take climate change seriously. They deny the science and make jokes about the weather, because they are in the pockets of Big Oil and other fossil fuel giants. And we want to be honest: The Green Dew Deal is not about to become law.
But there is an opportunity right now—to show politicians of both parties the genuine, widespread, popular support for the Green New Deal and other visionary approaches to tackle this crisis. Democratic leaders will be watching the public reaction—and MoveOn is in a unique position to flex our grassroots organizing muscle to help shape the conversation.
If we can join with Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, Sen. Markey, the Sunrise Movement, and countless other environmental leaders to loudly and compellingly demand action, Democrats will follow that energy—making climate change a central theme of their agenda in the House and a central issue in the 2020 primaries.
And if Democrats do that, it will provide a clear choice between the parties heading into 2020—as a widespread movement of electrified climate voters, including many younger voters, first-time voters, and unlikely voters turn out to support candidates up and down the ballot who will replace the climate deniers in Congress and the White House.
But if the Green New Deal lands with a thud, Democrats will take that as a sign to back away—to be silent on the disastrous impacts of climate change or to seek modest, insufficient responses to this global crisis.
So our path isn't easy, but it is clear: make sure that we bring together millions of voices to make calls, share videos, show up at events, and support the environmental advocates and leaders in Congress in creating a national clamor to address environmental justice; make sure Democrats in House leadership and on the 2020 trail respond to that clamor; and secure a critical place for climate in our political discourse, galvanizing voters and contributing to the cultural shift necessary to take on this issue.
Thanks for all you do.
–Justin, Jenn, Isbah, Michael, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Ocasio-Cortez Unveils Green New Deal to Reset Climate Policy," Bloomberg, February 7, 2019
https://act.moveon.org/go/63010?t=5&akid=226538%2E10220574%2Eor-boY
2. "We have 12 years to limit climate change catastrophe, warns UN," The Guardian, October 8, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/61232?t=7&akid=226538%2E10220574%2Eor-boY
3. "Ocasio-Cortez Unveils Green New Deal to Reset Climate Policy," Bloomberg, February 7, 2019
https://act.moveon.org/go/63010?t=9&akid=226538%2E10220574%2Eor-boY
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