Environment & Energy

elleng

(130,906 posts) Thu Jul 2, 2015, 06:41 PM Jul 2015

Clinton and Sanders Have a Shared Weakness, and Martin O’Malley Is Exploiting It.

Presidential candidate Martin O’Malley is polling a distant third among declared Democrats, ten points behind Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and more than 60 points behind Hillary Clinton. Closing that gap in any significant way will require taking stronger positions than his rivals on the issues most important to the party's base. He's done just that with his aggressive new plan on climate change, which the former Maryland governor will pitch to Iowans over the next three days. . .

But environmental campaigners are starting to notice O’Malley now.

“We look to presidential policy platforms for vision, and we're rapidly approaching, if not already at, a point where it's no longer enough for a Democratic candidate to diagnose the problem,” Climate Hawks Vote founder R.L. Miller said. “[W]e need policy prescriptions. Sanders' platform is basically what he's been pushing, without success, in the Senate—a carbon tax and a million solar rooftops.”

In other words: Namechecking Keystone and making fun of climate-change deniers doesn't cut it anymore.

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/122227/omalley-exploits-clinton-and-sanders-shared-weakness

3 replies

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Clinton and Sanders Have a Shared Weakness, and Martin O’Malley Is Exploiting It. (Original Post) elleng Jul 2015 OP

I applaud O'Malley's strong stance on global climate change. Maedhros Jul 2015 #1

It's surely not primarily for that reason that he goes strong on the environment, Maedhros, elleng Jul 2015 #2

I didn't mean to imply that he was electioneering. Maedhros Jul 2015 #3

Maedhros

(10,007 posts)

1. I applaud O'Malley's strong stance on global climate change.

Reply to elleng (Original post)

Thu Jul 2, 2015, 07:53 PM

Jul 2015

However, I don't think the headline is accurate - even the content of the article claims that Sanders is strong on the environment:

Sanders, meanwhile, has been the candidate of choice for Clinton's enivoronmental skeptics. He’s a longtime favorite of the green movement, having co-sponsored carbon tax legislation and bills to expand residential solar energy. He has a lifetime score of 95 percent from the League of Conservation Voters, and Climate Hawks Vote ranks him as the top Senator on climate.

But environmental campaigners are starting to notice O’Malley now.

“We look to presidential policy platforms for vision, and we're rapidly approaching, if not already at, a point where it's no longer enough for a Democratic candidate to diagnose the problem,” Climate Hawks Vote founder R.L. Miller said. “[W]e need policy prescriptions. Sanders' platform is basically what he's been pushing, without success, in the Senate—a carbon tax and a million solar rooftops.”

I wouldn't say that Clinton and Sanders "share a weakness" on the environment - that weakness is all Hillary's.

It looks like O'Malley intends to go strong on environmental issues in an effort to win Sanders voters. Who can fault him for that? Good move, Martin.

elleng

(130,906 posts)

2. It's surely not primarily for that reason that he goes strong on the environment, Maedhros,

Reply to Maedhros (Reply #1)

Thu Jul 2, 2015, 08:05 PM

Jul 2015

considering his record, and I appreciate that the weakness is all Hillary's.

Mother Jones magazine called him the best candidate on environmental issues.
Article here:
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/12/martin-omalley-longshot-presidential-candidate-and-real-climate-hawk

Maedhros

(10,007 posts)

3. I didn't mean to imply that he was electioneering.

Reply to elleng (Reply #2)

Thu Jul 2, 2015, 08:51 PM

Jul 2015

I think O'Malley is sincere. I think he should be commended for not triangulating - many candidates tone down their environmental rhetoric because they don't think it plays well.

I'm liking what O'Malley is saying so far

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