OPINION: To Clean Up The Environment, We Must First Clean Up Our Politics

image
Published: 03 Jan, 2019
Updated: 14 Aug, 2022
3 min read

In these times of mounting national and international crisis --  from poverty to climate change -- a lesson that emerges from studying how liberal democracies fail is condensed in a few words noted in Thucydides’s Peloponnesian War, “rights” are only relevant “between equals in power."

The Declaration of Independence declares a right to equality, but the reality of inequality for the powerless remains.

The great task of the independent political movement is to empower the American people to free our democracy and government from the sclerotic corrupt control of the major political parties. Independent nonpartisan political reforms such as open primaries, open debates, nonpartisan redistricting, campaign finance disclosure requirements and other reforms are a means to give power to the people, without such power equal rights have little meaning.

Take, for example, the Democratic Party leaders' attempts to sideline the movement for a Green New Deal in Congress.

The newly-elected representative from New York, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose sincerity, hard work, and passion are inspiring, is advocating a blueprint for the U.S. House to write legislation for a Green New Deal.

[pullout_blockquote quote="The great task of the independent political movement is to empower the American people to free our democracy and government from the sclerotic corrupt control of the major political parties." author="Dr. Jessie Fields, IVN Editorial Voice"]

A Green New Deal is a holistic approach to integrate the urgent need for clean energy with the equally urgent need for broad job opportunity on the scale of the original New Deal.

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez proposed that the House set up a select committee to work on drafting the legislation for a national transition to clean energy tied to clean energy jobs, universal job training, education, health care programs, and a living wage.

According to Ocasio-Cortez’s proposal the committee would be made up of 15 members, Republicans as well as Democrats, and no one on the special committee would be allowed to take campaign donations from oil and gas companies. The committee was to have one year to draft legislation to present to Congress.

IVP Donate

In a recent poll, the Green New Deal proposal, which many were just hearing about, received widespread public support. The poll found 81 percent of registered voters from across the political spectrum supported the policies outlined when told about the Green New Deal, showing the potential for a coalition to be built across party and partisan lines. And more than 300 state and local officials voiced support for a Green New Deal in an open letter.

Despite this support, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected the proposal and revived a weaker Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, which will not focus on a Green New Deal and will be chaired by Florida Democratic Rep. Kathy Castor, who was one of the people who delivered a speech nominating Pelosi to be Speaker. Rep. Castor is not adhering to the proposal that the members of the committee not accept money from oil and gas companies and the committee will not have subpoena power.

Activists with Justice Democrats and the Sunrise Movement who have advocated for a Green New Deal vowed to continue the fight.

My wish for the New Year is that Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and other newly-elected members of the House form alliances with independents to dismantle the control of the party insiders. To clean up our environmental, we have to clean up our politics. Support for both can build powerful new coalitions.

Photo Credit: Sunrise Movement

Latest articles

CA capitol building dome with flags.
Why is CA Senator Mike McGuire Trying to Kill the Legal Cannabis Industry?
California’s legal cannabis industry is under mounting pressure, and in early June, state lawmakers and the governor appeared poised to help. A bill to freeze the state’s cannabis excise tax at 15% sailed through the State Assembly with a unanimous 74-0 vote. The governor’s office backed the plan. And legal cannabis businesses, still struggling to compete with unregulated sellers and mounting operating costs, saw a glimmer of hope....
03 Jul, 2025
-
7 min read
I voted buttons
After First RCV Election, Charlottesville Voters Back the Reform: 'They Get It, They Like It, They Want to Do It Again'
A new survey out of Charlottesville, Virginia, shows overwhelming support for ranked choice voting (RCV) following the city’s first use of the system in its June Democratic primary for City Council. Conducted one week after the election, the results found that nearly 90% of respondents support continued use of RCV....
03 Jul, 2025
-
3 min read
Crowd in Time Square.
NYC Exit Survey: 96% of Voters Understood Their Ranked Choice Ballots
An exit poll conducted by SurveyUSA on behalf of the nonprofit better elections group FairVote finds that ranked choice voting (RCV) continues to be supported by a vast majority of voters who find it simple, fair, and easy to use. The findings come in the wake of the city’s third use of RCV in its June 2025 primary elections....
01 Jul, 2025
-
6 min read