Green New Deal

Overview

The Green New Deal refers to various proposals intended to combat economic inequality and climate change through public works projects and new economic policies, with a focus on promoting renewable energy.

Background

In 2012, perennial Green Party candidate Jill Stein made the Green New Deal a part of her presidential campaign. Following the November 2018 elections, members of the Democratic Party began adopting the Green New Deal as a part of their proposals.

Developments

2019 Resolution

On February 7th, 2019, a fourteen-page resolution drafted by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ed Markey was released, which called for a transition of the United States to renewable energy resources with zero emissions by investing in electric automobile industries and high-speed rail infrastructure.^[3][7]

Nancy Pelosi's Response

On February 7th, 2019, Politico^[1] published an interview with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who referred to the Green New Deal as the "green dream":

"It will be one of several or maybe many suggestions that we receive. The green dream or whatever they call it, nobody knows what it is, but they’re for it right?"

That day, Pelosi select eight Democrats for a climate change committee but did not include Ocasio-Cortez.^[4]

Twitter Reactions

That day, the @JusticeDems^[5] feed tweeted a graphic of co-sponsors of the proposal (shown below).

Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders tweeted an endorsement of the Green New Deal (shown below).^[6]

Others criticized the proposals. Washington Post columnist Megan McArdle tweeted about a "bizarre passage" in the FAQ about eliminating "farting cows and airplanes" (shown below).

Also on February 7th, 2019, The Daily Beast reporter Lachlan Markay tweeted a link to a Forbes article about the resolution, saying it was "not a serious proposal" (shown below).

Meanwhile, Twitter user KrangTNelson tweeted a joke mocking backlash to the proposal (shown below).

Also on February 7th, atmospheric scientist Ryan Maue tweeted^[2] a screenshot of the Ocasio-Cortez website page for the Green New Deal FAQ, showing that it had been removed from the site (shown below).

Senate Vote

On March 26th, 2019, Mitch McConnell forced a vote on the Green New Deal proposal, which failed to pass with a vote of 57-0, as 43 Democrats voted "Present" in protest of what they considered a "sham" vote on McConnell's behalf in an effort to split the Democratic party.^[9] Ocasio-Cortez tweeted that she encouraged Democratic senators to vote "present" after McConnell "rushed the Green New Deal to the floor without a hearing."^[10] In response, the @Team_Mitch Twitter account, which is McConnell's campaign's Twitter account, tweeted a GIF of Ocasio-Cortez turning into a corn cob, referencing the Corn Cobbed meme started by a Dril tweet (shown below, left). In response, Dril tweeted the account a link to a video titled "How to express your dog's anal glands at home" (shown below, right).

Mike Lee's Velociraptor Reagan Speech

On March 26th, 2019, Republican Senator Mike Lee from Utah gave a speech on the Senate floor arguing against the Green New Deal with a painting of Ronald Reagan riding a velociraptor with a rocket launcher strapped to his back and a machine gun in his hand, ostensibly to make a point that the Green New Deal is as comical and unrealistic as the painting (shown below). He went on to argue that the true solution to climate change was for Americans to have more babies, saying:

The solution to climate change is not this unserious resolution that we’re considering this week in the Senate but rather the serious business of 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.

Lee also used slides of a Tauntaun from The Empire Strikes Back and Aquaman to suggest humorous alternatives to planes, which the Green New Deal would seek to reduce the use of.

Ocasio-Cortez^[8] mocked the stunt, saying, "If this guy can be Senator, you can do anything" (shown below).

Search Interest

External References