WASHINGTON — Speaking at a crowded auditorium at Howard University, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and other proponents of the Green New Deal — an ambitious plan to rid the U.S. economy of a reliance on fossil fuels — affirmed their progressive ideals while striking out at both conservative Republicans and moderate Democrats who have, according to her and other critics, done too little about global warming for too long.
Her remarks were obviously aimed at Biden, who is now running for president and is facing criticism for not speaking urgently enough about climate change. A spokesperson for Ocasio-Cortez did not deny that Biden was a target of remarks. “We cannot allow ourselves to be bullied out of our values anymore,” Ocasio-Cortez said, urging the audience not to “settle for less.” That, too, seemed to be a reference to next year’s presidential election, a priority for Green New Deal proponents. The event’s young, energetic moderator, co-founder of the Sunrise Movement Varshini Prakash, demanded that Democratic candidates “swear off oil and gas money forever” and “commit to make the Green New Deal a day-one priority” if elected.
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., took on another facet of Republican criticism. Markey, who is co-sponsoring the Green New Deal with Ocasio-Cortez, noted that the plan is often depicted by opponents as a socialist takeover, one that will prevent Americans from eating hamburgers and flying on airplanes . But then he pointed out that Republicans had taken many measures to help allies in the extractive industries, in particular by offering them tax breaks.
She is going to get Trump re-elected!
Trump is laughing all the way to 270