Inslee may get his wish, as Dems consider a climate change debate
Jul 1, 2019, 5:37 PM | Updated: Jul 2, 2019, 7:22 am
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has longed pushed for a Democratic primary debate specifically devoted to the topic of climate change. He could soon get his wish, with the Democratic National Committee voting unanimously to mull over a pair of measures to that end, according to a report from The Hill.
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The DNC will reportedly consider at least two measures: To either establish an official climate change debate, or opt for what The Hill classified as “a more intimate forum on the subject.”
Inslee — who has made climate change the key issue of his 2020 presidential campaign — has been pushing for a climate debate for months now, a move that was initially spurned by the DNC. In the days and weeks since, he’s had a petition active on his campaign website, telling supporters to pressure the committee into reversing its decision.
Shortly after the first Democratic debates, he renewed those calls.
“In 4 hours of debate, the Democratic Party only talked about the existential threat to survival as we know it for about 15 minutes,” he told CNN.
Eight minutes tonight. Seven minutes last night. Fifteen minutes in four hours. The @DNC will not address the climate crisis with the urgency it requires. We must hold a #ClimateDebate. Now. #DemDebate2
— Jay Inslee (@JayInslee) June 28, 2019
The DNC is expected to vote once and for all as early as late August, at a meeting in San Francisco. According to The Hill, “hybrid options” for a debate format could also potentially be considered.
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“There are a number of us who want to have a standalone debate on the issue of climate. It’s more than an issue. We need a climate crisis response blueprint,” DNC executive committee and resolution committee member Christine Pelosi told The Hill.
Inslee remains the only 2020 presidential candidate to have earned an “A” grade from Greenpeace on climate change, followed by Cory Booker with an A-, and Bernie Sanders with a B+.
