Climate Groups Want Democrats to Confront Oil Companies Over Gas Prices

Mar 18, 2022
Climate Groups Want Democrats to Confront Oil Companies Over Gas Prices

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Different Democrats, notably Consultant Parag Khanna and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, have proposed a tax on vitality corporations’ “windfall income.” Based on Garin’s polling, the thought is common even with Republicans, 73 p.c of whom mentioned they supported it.

Requested in regards to the idea, a White Home official was noncommittal, however mentioned, “We’re not going to sit down again on our haunches and do nothing.”

Environmental teams have grown more and more subtle in how they have interaction in politics lately, consistently fine-tuning their methods as they strain Washington.

There’s the within recreation on the Capitol — nudging lawmakers to behave on their priorities. This can be a powerful one for the environmental motion. By one estimate, varied teams spent greater than $2 billion on lobbying over climate-related points between 2000 and 2016, with the vitality business main the best way. Again then, “the environmental neighborhood was largely enjoying an inside recreation” however lacked political energy, Podesta mentioned.

“With out partaking extra forcefully within the public debate, you get outgunned,” he mentioned.

Then there’s the skin recreation — constructing a coalition of voters who’re motivated by environmental issues, mainly local weather. And right here, inexperienced teams are not merely preaching to the proverbial choir. Activists say that 2019 was the primary 12 months local weather confirmed up on surveys as a top-tier voting difficulty, they usually anticipate that development to proceed.

Democrats view local weather voters as an more and more vital component of their governing coalition, however they fear about whether or not lots of them will prove in 2022 — particularly if Biden is unable to ship on the remainder of his local weather agenda. That’s the duty many left-leaning teams are turning to now.

Over the last election cycle, the League of Conservation Voters’ affiliated tremendous PAC, the LCV Victory Fund, studied what it calls “environmental swing voters” in an effort to search out new swimming pools of assist.

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