I gather that Matt Whitaker is being quite the asshole in his testimony before Congress today:
I’m seeing a lot of smart people here say that Whitaker will regret sassing Nadler this AM. Without IN ANY WAY condoning Whitaker’s dickish and unprofessional behavior, I sadly don’t see how that is the case.
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) February 8, 2019
Sadly, I didn’t watch the hearing. However, Hannah Levintova has more here.
In the meantime, I thought I would compile a list of everything included in the Green New Deal that was released yesterday. This is just for future reference:
- Commit to net zero greenhouse gas emissions within ten years
- Provide “millions” of good, high-wage jobs
- Repair and upgrade US infrastructure
- Provide everyone with access to clean air and clean water
- Repair historic oppression of indigenous peoples, communities of color, migrant communities, deindustrialized communities, depopulated rural communities, the poor, low-income workers, women, the elderly, the unhoused, people with disabilities, and youth
- Protect against extreme weather events
- Eliminate pollution and greenhouse gases “as much as technologically feasible”
- Meet 100 percent of power demand via renewable and zero-emission sources
- Upgrade to smart grids
- Upgrade all existing buildings for maximum energy efficiency
- Invest in public transit and high-speed rail
- Mitigate the long-term health effects of pollution and climate change
- Restore fragile ecosystems
- Clean up hazardous waste sites
- Provide higher education to all
- Invest in R&D of new energy technologies
- Build wealth, community ownership, and good jobs in marginalized communities
- Create union jobs that pay prevailing wages
- Guarantee living wage to everyone
- Guarantee family and medical leave, paid vacations, and retirement security to everyone
- Improve union bargaining strength
- Strengthen labor and workplace safety standards
- Enact trade rules that increase jobs but don’t transfer pollution overseas
- Reform the use of eminent domain
- Ensure that all business are free from unfair competition
- Provide all people of the United States with high-quality health care
- Provide all people of the United States with good housing
- Provide all people of the United States with economic security
- Provide all people of the United States with healthy and affordable food
- Provide all people of the United States with access to nature
This is really more of a social democratic manifesto than a climate change plan. Perhaps instead of Green New Deal, it should just be called “Finish Up the New Deal”?
