Senate Democrats running for president on increasingly progressive – even socialist – agendas have been telling voters they back the Green New Deal, pushing for a transition to renewable energy in the United States by 2030.
Now, White House hopefuls will have to vote on the plan, and perhaps other progressive ideas that have pushed the Democratic field to the left.
The Senate this week will vote on the Green New Deal, a broad resolution authored by star freshman and self-described democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass. It calls for, among other things, eliminating all greenhouse gas emissions and “providing higher education, high-quality health care, and affordable, safe, and adequate housing to all.”
This measure won’t pass in the GOP-led Senate, but Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., will put the half-dozen Senate Democrats running for president on the record as to whether they back the estimated $90 trillion proposal that even some in their party have declared too radical.
McConnell has taken to the Senate floor regularly to highlight the socialist shift in the Democratic Party, which has escalated on the presidential campaign trail.
He recently called the resolution “the far-left’s master plan to hurt American energy independence, disrupt millions of workers’ livelihoods, and put entire industries out of business, and let Washington regulators redesign every building in America, while letting China and other countries off the hook.”
With six Senate Democrats running for president, McConnell is likely to bring other far-left proposals up for a vote in order to get the candidates on the record.
Among the likely targets is the progressive Medicare for All bill that would replace all private health insurance with a government-run system. Like the Green New Deal, the idea divides the Democrats. Each of the bills, introduced in the House, has the backing of less than half the Democratic Caucus.
[Related: ‘Medicare for All’ loses Democratic sponsors]
The measures also lack the support of top Democratic leaders, such as Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
“It’s already been quite an experience watching liberal leaders grapple publicly with the question of whether, in fact, their movement is seriously going to double down on these socialist policies,” McConnell said.
The Senate’s half-dozen White House hopefuls will be under pressure to back the Green New Deal this week.
[Related: Unions split with Democrats over ‘Green New Deal’]
Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-declared socialist from Vermont who is topping the polls of announced candidates, has promised to introduce his own Green New Deal legislation. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., who is also a leading candidate, has pledged to support the Green New Deal resolution. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., have also declared their support for the resolution.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said she supports the measure but told Fox News last month, “I see it as aspirational. I see it as a jump-start.”
Democrats label the upcoming Senate vote on the Green New Deal a political stunt and are calling on Republicans to put forward their own ideas to address climate change issues.
The Sunrise Movement, the environmental activist group pushing for the Green New Deal, called the Senate vote “a sham.” Nevertheless, the group will launch a nine-city campaign next month to convince lawmakers to back the proposal.
“We’ll hear from political leaders about how the Green New Deal would protect communities across the country from the worsening impacts of climate change while boosting our economy,” the group said in a statement. “Then we’ll lay out the plan to make the 2020 election a referendum on the Green New Deal, so we can make the Green New Deal law in 2021.”
[Also read: Green New Deal faces big problem: Lack of power lines]
Senate Democrats could decide to stick together and vote “present” rather than support or reject the Green New Deal. Democrats mostly voted “present” in July 2017 when Republicans brought up a single-payer healthcare measure.
But this year a “present” vote may not satisfy the base.
Top Democratic presidential candidates on the campaign trail have already been enthusiastically backing the plan, which could make it difficult for them to dodge a vote in favor of the resolution without endangering their support.
A recent poll found 72 percent of Democrats back the Green New Deal resolution, and support rises to 75 percent among who describe themselves as liberal.
“I support the Green New Deal, because we need a sense of urgency and a bold agenda to address the climate crisis,” Harris declared recently.
