President Biden nailed this one
We’re nearly eight months into the new Biden administration and much of 2017, when the former guy’s administration was just settling in, has either become a distant memory or has been completely forgotten by many voters, even if it was roughly as turbulent due to disasters of its own making. You might have some memories of the Charlottesville riot or of the Muslim ban that was enacted almost immediately when Trump took office, which rightfully earned him the scorn of many voters. It’s a bit harder to recall the way Trump disastrously mishandled tropical storms that year like Hurricane Maria which left over 3,000 people dead in Puerto Rico.
When Maria, Irma and Harvey all battered the U.S. and its territories, a number of activists rightfully pointed out that this was due to the worsening effects of climate change, right-wing pundits and politicians accused them of mixing tragedy and politics, even though these people largely had no interest in the tragedy anyway. When Hurricane Ida hit the east coast this week, President Biden had a different tone as he addressed the nation – tying the catastrophe along with recent wildfires on the west coast to the impact of climate change, and tied it into his reconciliation bill for investing in improved infrastructure and clean energy jobs.
While this argument probably won’t convince anyone new to accept the science of climate change, it’s a critical time to clamor for its support, particularly among a congress with a majority of Democratic lawmakers. It’s also a fairly effective way to rally together the progressives and moderates within his party – a base that needs to turn out regularly in 2021 and 2022. Let’s make sure we do that and help America build back better.
James Sullivan is the assistant editor of Brain World Magazine and an advocate of science-based policy making