Hopeful "Democratic" Presidential Candidate Jim Webb Sucks on Climate Change

[RiverLover]

Jim Webb sucks on climate change
11/21/14

As Bloomberg’s Dave Weigel observes, “It probably says something about Webb’s dark horse status—or about the priorities of the media—that Webb2016.com was registered on Oct. 20 and nobody really noticed.”

...Webb cannot be easily dismissed, though. The white male elite of the Democratic Party is always on the lookout for a candidate with machismo, a military background, or a Southern home state to help them win back the elusive working-class white voters. Gruff, gun-toting Webb has all three. He was talked up in the Beltway media as a possible 2008 running mate for Obama or Hillary Clinton. He excited the liberal blogosphere with his unusually strong official Democratic response to the State of the Union in 2007. Webb’s chances of beating Clinton for the Democratic nomination are slim, but he could be a top-tier contender if she didn’t run or be on the vice-presidential shortlist.

So it’s a problem that Webb sucks on climate change. The next president has to be a climate hawk. We’re rapidly running out of time to stave off the worst effects of warming. And, with Republicans in control of the House of Representatives until at least 2022 thanks to gerrymandering, federal progress on emissions reductions will only happen through executive action.

When he served in the Senate, Webb was a “climate curmudgeon,” as Kate Sheppard put it in Mother Jones. “A moderate, coal-state Democrat … Webb has emerged as a major pain in the ass for Democratic leaders on climate issues.” In 2008, when public concern for climate change was at a high point, Webb told Politico that he didn’t think reducing emissions was a priority. “We need to be able to address a national energy strategy and then try to work on environmental efficiencies as part of that plan,” Webb said. “We can’t just start with things like emission standards at a time when we’re at a crisis with the entire national energy policy.”

Instead of wind and solar, Webb advocates for nukes and the chimera of “clean coal.”

http://grist.org/politics/jim-webb-sucks-on-climate-change/

Go away, Jim Webb. Just go.

[loyalsister]

1. More than ever

we are going to need Bernie Sanders to participate in the presidential debates!

[RiverLover]

2. We do need him in the debates, so true!!

He can't win. In a perfect world, he would. But he will change the narrative & get candidates to wake up to what needs to be done to straighten things out here in the US.

[loyalsister]

3. You're right

He can't win. I have historically resented candidates who don't have any chance of winning. But, I think he can accomplish a lot in driving the dialogue in the direction we need to go.
The thing about Sanders that I like is his arguments are practical and he backs them up with hard data.

His positions are based on numbers and morality, but he does not allow his subjective inclinations to cloud the facts when he makes his case.

[woo me with science]

4. Bernie Sanders 2016

[Skeowes28]

5. If he dies get the nomination

I would vite for him in a second to conservative supreme cr justices

[RiverLover]

8. But he's conservative. Why would he nominate a progressive SC justice? ~nt

[Jim Lane]

10. President Webb's nominees would be better than President Cruz's or even President Kasich's

Webb has very very little chance of being the nominee, but if he is, I expect I'll hold my nose and vote for him.

[Autumn]

6. This is why Bernie Sanders 2016.

I agree go away Jim.

[woolldog]

7. He sucks on everything

I hope no one here is thinking about supporting his primary bid. He's not a real democrat.

[SoCalDem]

9. He has less than zero chance of getting nominated..He must be writing another book

[MisterP]

11. "Rules of Engagement" Webb? why not try and have John Yoo switch parties

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

12. Maybe Clinton will give him a "good doggie" cabinet position.

Or, maybe run him as her "liberal" VP candidate.