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Friday, September 06, 2019

Go Slow Joe must be the favorite of Coal Miner Joe. The Joes lag the remainder of the thinking world.

Go Slow Joe.

Coal Miner Joe.

Pick your fossil fuel. The vote here is for the Ol' Miner.

And, what does "leadership" mean in a world moving away from kissing up to the 1%?

As to the Joe who'd want to be top boss, the opening Reuters link states in part:

More than half of the crowded field of Democratic contenders, including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Beto O’Rourke, Cory Booker, Jay Inslee and Pete Buttigieg have backed the Green New Deal, and many have also called for a moratorium on drilling on federal land.

Sanders and Inslee on Friday criticized the measured approach that Biden may take.

Inslee praised the Obama-Biden administration for its climate legacy but said “the times and science have changed. We cannot simply go back to the past; we need a bold climate plan for our future.”

On Twitter, Sanders said there is “no middle ground when it comes to climate policy.”

Biden has yet to comment publicly on the Green New Deal, and has said little about climate change in his campaign stops.

Referring to the outlines of Biden’s policy, Varshini Prakash, the director of the Sunrise Movement, which has been pushing candidates to endorse the Green New Deal, said: “We are ready and willing to call out the insufficiency of policies like that.”

Of interest, "calling out policies like that," cannot yet be done in detail, because as Reuters reports:

The backbone of the policy will likely include the United States re-joining the Paris Climate Agreement and preserving U.S. regulations on emissions and vehicle fuel efficiency that Trump has sought to undo, according to one of the sources, Heather Zichal, who is part of a team advising Biden on climate change. She previously advised President Barack Obama.

The second source, a former energy department official advising Biden’s campaign who asked not to be named, said the policy could also be supportive of nuclear energy and fossil fuel options like natural gas and carbon capture technology, which limit emissions from coal plants and other industrial facilities.

A spokesman for Biden’s campaign, TJ Ducklo, declined to comment on Biden’s emerging climate policy or his advisers, but said Biden takes climate change seriously. “Joe Biden has called climate change an ‘existential threat,’ and as Vice President was instrumental in orchestrating the Paris Climate Accord,” Ducklo said in an emailed statement.

On Twitter, Biden echoed the statement and said he plans to unveil policies that reflect the urgency of climate change.

In short, the Biden camp is still straddling the fence having no actual energy policy enunciated yet in any detail, but giving early hints of the middle of the road being Biden's favorite lane. To victory? Better than Trump might not cut it in today's climate. Where the truth in today's political climate is crystal clear, to all:

Biden responded: “They’d be looking for someone who maybe done them as good a chance of beating Trump, but understands the problems and the opportunities that they face.”

“... when the assertion is made that ... well, the reason the only person that can beat Trump is, “an old white guy.” I just think that ... I think there’s other people in the race who can beat Trump,” Biden continued.

“Who?” Capehart asked.

“Well, I think almost anybody,” Biden answered. “They’d all make a better president than Trump, no matter who’s left in the race.”

So far, one of the Biden campaign's critical arguments in favor of his candidacy has been that he is the Democrat best positioned to beat Trump [...]

So, "best positioned to beat Trummp" seems to be irrelevant, with the question being who is going to be the best President, once elected, after beating Trump. Why not admit beating Trump involves several top tier candidacies, where middle of the road is unessential, and perhaps a disincentive for attracting support of people wanting, fundamentally, for much to CHANGE.