The leadership of the Democratic National Committee let Washington Gov. Jay Inslee know Wednesday that it does not plan to hold a separate presidential candidate debate on the climate crisis that he had requested, and that at least five other Democratic candidates have supported. In that request, Inslee wrote:
Defeating climate change won’t be easy. If it was, it would’ve been done a long time ago. Powerful special interests will do everything they can to keep their profits and the status quo. We need to demonstrate to the millions of Democrats around the country who care deeply about the future of our planet that we are ensuring our next president is equipped to deal with this crisis.
Although Inslee has positions on many issues, he’s running for president to ensure that climate crisis gets lots of attention during the campaign. In the election seasons of 2014, 2016, and 2018, most prominent Democrats up and down the ballot barely mentioned climate, if at all, during their election runs. In the six hours of debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, five minutes and 27 seconds were spent on climate matters.
In a statement Wednesday, Inslee said:
Today, my team received a call from the Democratic National Committee letting us know that they will not host a climate debate ... they explained that if we participated in anyone else's climate debate, we will not be invited to future debates. [...]
The DNC is silencing the voices of Democratic activists, many of our progressive partner organizations, and nearly half of the Democratic presidential field who want to debate the existential crisis of our time. The climate crisis merits a full discussion of our plans, not a short exchange of talking points.
In a comment, DNC communications director Xochitl Hinojosa stated:
[The] goal is to provide a platform for candidates to have a vigorous discussion on ideas and solutions on the many issues that voters care about, including the economy, climate change, and health care. While climate change is at the top of our list, the DNC will not be holding entire debates on a single issue area because we want to make sure voters have the ability to hear from candidates on dozens of issues of importance to American voters.
So, climate change is at the “top of our list,” but in terms of debate, in the DNC’s view, it’s just another item on a laundry list of issues. The message seems to be that if an exception is made for the climate crisis, advocates for every issue on that laundry list will request the same.
If this were merely a matter of logistics, the DNC’s stance might almost be believable. One could then take that top-of-the-list assertion at face value.
But, as Inslee notes, the committee isn’t just saying that there will be no DNC-authorized climate crisis debate. Reiterating its earlier guidance on debates, the committee told him that participating in some other candidate debate on climate would mean getting on the DNC’s blacklist.
The climate crisis is existential. Rejecting a separate debate on the matter reflects the kind of attitude that has led us to the point where scientists normally given to cautious language and tone are freaking out. Too bad the DNC doesn’t have the good sense—politically and environmentally—to do the same.
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Groups backing a separate climate debate include the U.S. Youth Climate Strike, CREDO, Climate Hawks Vote, 350 Action, Greenpeace, Oil Change US, Daily Kos, NextGen America, the Sunrise Movement, Women’s March, Endangered Species Coalition, and Bold Alliance.