Hey there, all you Bernie fans! I love him too. Kamala Harris looks good? I agree. You think Elizabeth Warren could do great things? Me too. Does Beto O’Rourke look like he could beat Trump? Yes. There are lots of democrats seeking to be president, and there are a lot of good reasons to choose most of them. But we only get one.
So I suggest you throw your support 100% behind the candidate who I don’t think can get the nomination. Jay Inslee.
What??? Why would I suggest you not only support, but vigourously support the guy I think won’t even get the nomination? Let me tell you.
Whatever democrat does get it, will probably be pretty good on the issue of climate change. Maybe even very good. RELATIVELY SPEAKING.
They will acknowledge it’s real, it’s man-made, it’s dangerous, and we need to take steps to reduce emissions. They’ll keep it short and move quickly on to the next issue. Let’s be realistic: except for maybe Bernie, I haven’t heard democratic candidates give it much more than lip service. And none of them, really not even Bernie, fully understand HOW deep is the shit we’re in already.
So whichever person that turns out to be — whether it’s Kamala or Elizabeth or Bernie or Beto or whoever — I want them to feel the sting of having been burned on their tepid response (except maybe Bernie), even before they get that nomination. I want their inadequate lip service to be thrown in their faces — hell, make that a bitch-slap. They need it, every bit as much as Diane Feinstein needed the bitch-slap she got from a bunch of kids too young to vote.
And don’t tell me Bernie is so good on it that he doesn’t need the bitch-slap. I know that already. What he can’t deliver is the climate change bitch-slap to the other candidates. Only one person can throw the gauntlet in their faces: Jay Inslee.
If you love Bernie, keep Jay in the race so when the bitch-slaps come, the only ones left standing are Jay and Bernie. If you love Elizabeth, give her the bitch-slap she desperately needs, not just to get the nomination and the presidency, but to do right by us when she does.
Whoever gets the democratic nomination, needs to hear Jay Inslee’s voice loud and clear, right on their heels.
Open Mind 
I agree. Bringing these issues front and center in a rational and civilized way, as Jay Inslee does, with practical examples, is of great value. I might even say of greatest value. Thanks for the heads up, this is an excellent argument.
A Bernie and Jay ticket would remind me of Clinton Gore in some ways. Global warming is the number one issue to be considered these days imho. But then, it has been the number one issue imo for 20 years. It’s a shame that the Supreme Court preferred Bush over Gore. We almost had a climate change president in office back in 2000. Bernie/Jay is a little heavy on white guys but the ticket has some balance in other ways. I think announcing a ticket and campaigning as a team is a smart idea and should be considered, but everyone is trying to grab the golden ring. Human nature for the kind of humans who thrive in the world of politics.
To change things, you have to support a candidate who has coattails long enough to win the US Senate. Because nothing can get by a Republican-controlled senate. I live in a red state. To win senate seats in red states requires a Presidential candidate with a great deal of charisma: adept on their feet with a great stump speeches: inspirational. It’s American politics.
[Response: Is this your way of saying Bernie is the only choice?]
It isn’t just the republican senators that can jam up the legislation that we need, there are a lot of dem senators and congresspeople who are quite beholden to deep pockets and might as well be republicans if/when truly progressive legislation comes up for a vote.
Obama had a lot of charisma and had limited success with the Dem Congress that he had for two years. Every president now has to contend with two houses of Congress who are knee deep in the money grind of the endless campaign season where we now all live. The playing field is far from level with vote suppression, gerrymandering and the electoral college, plus since Citizens United, we have unlimited money to contend with.
But, worrying/bitch-slapping etc. is not where I think we should put our time and energy. We need to put our time and energy in a positive push to reduce emissions by any means necessary.
Cheers,
Mike
Taking the senate basically requires taking 60 seats. Obama never had that.
No doubt Bernie has “it”, but I don’t think his “it” is going to take red-state senate seats.
The media and pundits are gunning for him this week, so maybe I’ll be wrong, but I think Beto will be the frontrunner in a month, and will never give it up. I watched the students at my neighborhood university go nuts for the guy. They flipped the reddest big-city county, mine, in Texas; something I thought would be impossible to accomplish.
No fossil fuels, I suppose that means all sources of hydrocarbons from holes in the ground:
Space heating. Heat pumps or just electric resistance heaters.
Transportation. Use electricity to make fuels from air and water.
Electric grid: oh yes, that too.
Well, we hope Moltex Energy and others cancel deliver on $36/MWh electric power.
Even that isn’t enough. Reforest the Sahara desert; throw in the Australian outback. What the heck, the Arabian Empty Quarter as well.
Is Jay Inslee going to push all that? For a lesser effort leads to unfortunate consequences. Even with this much Susan Anderson willingness get her ankles wet.
From a distance (in New Zealand, which was so tragically pulled into the rest of the world on Friday), I’m minded of the great hope of Obama, who also highlighted climate change but, even with majorities in both houses for a couple of years, did nothing of significance on climate change action. Admittedly, from a distance, so maybe there were some nuances I didn’t get. So candidates who make climate change their number one priority should be supported, in the hope that the number one priority will get priority treatment, maybe even declaring a climate emergency!
From Australia, I’m so sorry. Mike. And outraged, grief-struck and furious.