‘It’s the first step down a dark path to socialism…’
(Ben Sellers, Liberty Headlines) On Thursday, advocates of a “Green New Deal” that is warily regarded by many as a socialist power grab took their first step by releasing a legislative framework.
.@AOC unveils #GreenNewDeal: “Today is also the day that we choose to assert ourselves as a global leader in transitioning to 100% renewable energy and charting that path… We should do it because we are an example to the world.” https://t.co/2wVPSEx6SK pic.twitter.com/a6AG8TWtPK
— The Hill (@thehill) February 7, 2019
The materials, released by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio–Cortez, D-N.Y., immediately raised more red flags when people took notice of the plan to “Upgrade or replace every building in US for state-of-the-art energy efficiency.”
Many on both sides of the aisle have questioned and criticized the shaky math that Ocasio–Cortez and her cohorts have used, which also includes $4.6 trillion at minimum to repair and upgrade infrastructure.
But despite the many questions it raised from its lack of specific funding details, all five of the Democrats currently running for the 2020 presidential nomination said they endorsed it. Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; Cory Booker, D-N.J.; Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.; Kamala Harris, D-Calif.; and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., all signed on to cosponsor.
Less enthusiastic was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who downplayed it as being only one of many possible proposals, according to Politico.
Pelosi appeared to mock its vagueness in her comments.
“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?”
Energy advocates also shredded the vague proposal as a moonshot.
“Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez believes the world is ending in 12 years, and her only solution is a 14-page document without any specifics or numbers,” said Power The Future Executive Director Daniel Turner. ” I don’t agree with Michael Bloomberg often, but he is dead-on when he calls the so-called Green New Deal a ‘pie in the sky’ idea.”
Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Work, blasted it as a raw deal for American taxpayers.
“It’s a socialist manifesto that lays out a laundry list of government giveaways,” he said. “… As Democrats take a hard left turn, this radical proposal would take our growing economy off the cliff and our nation into bankruptcy. It’s the first step down a dark path to socialism.”
In his State of the Union address earlier this week, President Donald Trump vowed to fight efforts to turn the U.S. into a socialist nation resembling Venezuela.
In response, Ocasio–Cortez, 29, who drew comparisons to a surly teenager for remaining seated and refusing to applaud during the speech’s calls for compromise, said that Trump—despite his having ushered in one of the strongest economies in U.S. history and established the country for the first time as an energy exporter—had offered up no vision for how to lead the country.
Why should I be “spirited and warm” for this embarrassment of a #SOTU?
Tonight was an unsettling night for our country. The president failed to offer any plan, any vision at all, for our future.
We’re flying without a pilot. And I‘m not here to comfort anyone about that fact. https://t.co/7bu3QXFMnC
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 6, 2019