This story was originally published by Slate and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
Chuck Schumer wants Democrats to use the climate change debate to their advantage in 2020. In a New York Times interview published Monday, the Senate minority leader previewed a political strategy based on a barrage of daily floor speeches attacking Republicans for failing to take global warming seriously and a proposal to create a new committee to deal with the issue. “This is the first time Democrats have decided to go on offense on climate change,” he declared.
The promise to take the climate fight to Republicans is a welcome one. It would be a bold rebuttal to GOP leaders who can’t contain their giddiness about the prospects of using the Green New Deal as a political weapon and to the rest of the right as it tries to turn a pressing existential crisis into a joke about cow farts. Schumer’s comments show that he and other Democratic leaders have finally noticed the bevy of polls indicating that Americans — younger ones in particular — are increasingly worried about global warming and believe Democrats are far better suited than Republicans to do somethi... Read more
