Harris's Recent Speech, Remarks by Democratic Primary Figures
"Avoided Meaningful Mention of Climate Crisis"
Democratic Strategy to Secure Broad Support
Concerns Raised About Potential Loss of Core Voters
Recently, criticism has arisen that the US Democratic Party is being passive in presenting policies or messages related to the climate crisis ahead of the presidential election. It is analyzed that the Democratic Party is remaining silent on key agendas to secure a relatively broad support base. Voices are emerging that, in the upcoming presidential election, Democratic figures including Vice President Kamala Harris need to speak more confidently about the climate crisis in order to not lose their ‘home base’ voters.
The progressive US media outlet The Washington Post (WP) reported on the 22nd (local time) in an article titled “Why is the Democratic Party so quiet about climate change right now” that Vice President Harris recently avoided meaningful mentions of climate change during the four-day Democratic National Convention held from the 19th to the 22nd in Chicago.
WP evaluated that Vice President Harris’s campaign speech on the 16th in North Carolina, related to the “first 100 days economic plan,” focused on popular economic issues such as banning grocery price hikes. Regarding climate-related messages, it was limited to the routine statement that “the Biden administration has made historic investments in semiconductor manufacturing and clean energy.”
WP further noted that during the four-day Democratic convention concluding that day, key Democratic figures also echoed Vice President Harris’s ambiguous stance on the climate crisis.
President Joe Biden mentioned ‘climate change’ only twice in his keynote speech on the first day of the convention, while ‘economy’ and ‘border’ were mentioned six and five times respectively. On the second day, former President Barack Obama only said at the end of his speech, “I believe Harris will protect the Earth from climate change.” On the third day, Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota, focused more on criticizing the opposing candidate by mentioning the possibility of restrictions on reproductive rights such as abortion if former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, were elected, rather than on climate issues.
WP analyzed that the Democratic Party seems to have judged that actively addressing climate issues would not help their chances of winning the election. For example, they risk losing the ‘vote’ of Pennsylvania voters, a battleground state where the fossil fuel industry such as natural gas is active.
However, some express concerns that avoiding mentions of climate change could backfire, causing young voters to drift away. The US youth climate movement group ‘Sunrise Movement’ diagnosed that the reason the Democratic Party enjoys relatively high support among the 20-30 age group is due to expectations that it will be proactive in responding to the climate crisis.
Stevie O’Hanlon, spokesperson for the Sunrise Movement, pointed out, “If Vice President Harris does not emphasize the climate crisis, the Republicans and the oil industry will define Harris’s stance instead,” and added, “The Democratic Party should not be afraid to discuss the climate crisis agenda.”
According to a recent joint poll by George Mason University and Yale University, about 62% of US voters responded that they would vote for a presidential candidate who proposes measures to address global warming.
Edward Maibach, director of the Climate Change Communication Center at George Mason University, emphasized, “(If the Democratic Party) talks about climate change measures, 20-30% of voters may feel alienated, but those voters would not support Harris anyway.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
