Here goes nothing: Some thoughts on the 2020 race, and our climate crisis...in the form of a perhaps overwrought thread because I'm still reeling a little bit. 🧵
Before I was #WithWarren I was with @JayInslee. Like Jay, I believe the climate crisis should be the central issue in 2020. I adored his focus, his drive, his passion, his team of experts, and the way he listened to communities to build the gold standard of climate plans.
Being with Jay was fun. It was inspiring and exciting to see climate and energy positions I’ve been pushing for years finally getting their time in the spotlight and being advocated by a powerful messenger on the national stage.
But in the back of my mind I always knew that Jay was not going to be the Democratic nominee for President. I knew that a white guy with modest name recognition from a crunchy corner of the country running an issue-specific campaign would have a tough road.
Of course, @JayInslee is more than just Mr. Climate. He’s got strong, progressive positions and records on a number of issues and I believe he would have been a great President if elected. But my cynical side knew it was a long shot at best.
So when Jay dropped out of the race, I was more celebratory than sad. His campaign won in so many ways, even if he wasn’t to be the nominee. Climate was center stage in the primary in ways never before seen. His climate plans provide a roadmap for any future President.
In short, while I truly believe he did set out to be President, I believe that @JayInslee achieved much of what his campaign for President was about. And I remain so, so thankful for his and his team’s efforts.
When Jay dropped out, I immediately was #WithWarren. I see in @ewarren an inspirational leader whose heart is in the right place, and who backs up her righteous rage at a broken system with plans to build a better new one. She's the best kind of happy warrior.
And that includes, importantly, passion on climate. What I see in @ewarren is someone who gets that the climate crisis impacts absolutely everything and is impacted by everything, and that it is the existential crisis of our time.
What I see in @ewarren is a woman who listens. She listens to communities, she listens to policy wonks, to campaigners, to organizers, to rivals. She adjusts her plans based on input and critique, and they are better for it.
Warren and her team developed some 14 plans related to addressing the climate crisis. 14! And they’re good! Developed in consultation with impressive experts in the field, they, coupled with @jayinslee’s roadmap, present an incredible foundation for the next administration.
What’s more, I want a woman in the White House. Period. I want children out there to believe that this country values women and that anyone can be President.
And I truly thought that despite everything @ewarren could win. I thought she could overcome the misogynistic odds and lead this country forward. So as her campaign for the Presidency reaches its end, I find I’m not in that same celebratory spirit.
I’m sad that I was wrong and I’m grappling with the fact that it’s too easy for a guy like me to be more optimistic than I should be about issues like misogyny in this country.
But I’m looking for hope, too. And there are few places. First, is my wife @E_L_Turnbull, who said this morning, better than I find I’m able to say: “I’m choosing to focus on all the great things Warren brought to this primary field...
“She inspired millions of women and girls to put in the homework, make the plan and get it done. She eviscerated Mike Bloomberg on the debate stage - today it is a two-man race between Biden and Bernie, not Bloomberg and Bernie, and we have Elizabeth to thank for that...
“She centered trans people, and trans women of color in particular, whenever she had the chance. She reminded us of the importance of environmental justice whenever climate change was discussed...
“She made billionaires cry, she made Wall Street tremble, and she made Ann Coulter lose her damn mind…The race has been better because of her, and I think it will continue to be so.”
And when it comes to the climate crisis, I have to say (as I always have), I find hope in @BernieSanders. There are a few if any people in the political arena who have been raising the alarm louder or for longer than Bernie.
Bernie’s climate plan is ambitious, it’s aggressive, it pulls no punches. He has shown time and again he’s willing to stand up to the fossil fuel industry and for communities bearing the impacts of industry malfeasance and climate chaos.
Do I love everything about Bernie the way I loved so much about Warren? Well, no. But do I love his passion to tackle the climate crisis? Undoubtedly. And compared to the remaining alternative in the race? It's not even a question.
When I look at @JoeBiden I see so much of what I think is wrong in how to approach the climate crisis. I see mediocrity in his plan when I’ve seen ambition and excellence in others'. I see an unwillingness to listen and learn, when I’ve seen exciting collaboration elsewhere.
I see a defensiveness in @JoeBiden that is off putting at best. At worst, he is condescending and downright inappropriate towards brave young people who are merely asking that he do better so they can have a brighter future.
So with a heavy heart and sincere gratitude for @JayInslee and @ewarren and their campaigns that could have been, here I am. Now, I’m with @BernieSanders. Our climate crisis cannot afford mediocrity. We must do better, and we can.
"Choose to fight only righteous fights, because then when things get tough — and they will — you will know that there is only one option ahead of you: Nevertheless, you must persist." -@ewarren
There are few fights as righteous as our climate fight. So, we must persist.
There are few fights as righteous as our climate fight. So, we must persist.
