Why Democrats are so quiet about climate change right now
Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democrats have not made significant mentions of climate change or the environment in recent stump speeches. After casting the tiebreaking vote for the biggest climate bill in U.S. history, Vice President Kamala Harris would seem to have some environmental bragging rights. Yet Harris and other top Democrats have not highlighted climate change or the environment in recent stump speeches, including keynote remarks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week. Former president Donald Trump , by contrast, has continued to attack Harris for her alleged war on American energy, and several speakers at last months Republican National Convention lambasted gasoline prices under President Joe Biden . The split-screen approach suggests that Democrats see talking about the environment as a lose-lose proposition. If they call for curbing fossil fuel production to fight global warming, they risk alienating voters in Pennsylvania, a pivotal swing state where natural gas powers the economy. But if they tout record U.S. oil production that has helped lower energy costs, they risk angering young voters, a crucial constituency for Democrats. There is no doubt that climate change has fueled extreme weather this summer, bringing longer and more extreme heat waves to wide swaths of the country. But with most voters ranking other issues as more important, and with Democrats wanting to paint a rosy picture of the future, party leaders appear to have calculated that climate silence is the safest strategy. It looks like a deliberate decision to forgo both pro-climate and pro-drilling messaging, said Kevin Book, managing director at ClearView Energy Partners, a research firm. The campaign may have concluded that it has more to lose by alienating voters on either side than to gain by drawing in undecideds. It may be too early to draw conclusions, Book said, given that Harris is scheduled to deliver an acceptance speech in Chicago on Thursday evening. It remains unclear whether the environment will be a prominent theme in that address. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is also slated to speak at the convention on Thursday, and she is expected to mention clean-energy jobs created under the Biden-Harris administration, according to a person familiar with the programming who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the schedule is not public. Other speakers on Thursday include Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), the youngest member of Congress, and John Russell, a content creator who is expected to talk about the energy transition. Many major environmental groups, for their part, arent pressing Harris to spell out whether shell go further than Biden in limiting planet-warming emissions. On Monday, a coalition of environmental groups announced a $55 million advertising campaign in support of Harris, and the first three ads dont explicitly mention climate change, focusing instead on the economy. Trump has called climate change a hoax, and his administration weakened or wiped out more than 125 environmental rules and policies . In contrast, Harris has called global warming an an existential threat to us as a species, and the Biden-Harris administration has finalized the strongest-ever limits on emissions from cars and power plants . Vice President Harris was proud to fight for and cast the tie-breaking vote on the nations largest investment to tackle the climate crisis and create a clean energy economy and is focused on a future where all Americans have access to clean air and clean water, and good-paying jobs, Harris campaign spokesman Seth Schuster said in an emailed statement. He declined to preview the vice presidents acceptance speech. During an economic speech on Friday in Raleigh, N.C., Harris referenced green energy in passing, saying the Biden administration has made historic investments in infrastructure, in chips manufacturing, in clean energy. She then returned to her populist economic agenda , including the first-ever ban on price-gouging for groceries and food. Speakers at the Democratic National Convention have followed suit. Biden mentioned climate change twice in his keynote remarks on Monday, compared with six mentions of the economy and five mentions of the border. He did brag at length about the climate bill the Inflation Reduction Act that needed Harriss tiebreaking vote, calling it the most significant climate law in the history of mankind aimed at cutting carbon emissions in half by 2030. In rousing remarks on Tuesday, former president Barack Obama said Harris believes in protecting the planet from climate change toward the end of his speech. But he and former first lady Michelle Obama devoted a far greater share of their remarks to scathing rebukes of Trump. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), Harriss running mate, said on Wednesday night that when Republicans use the word freedom, they mean ... corporations free to pollute your air and water. But he largely used his speech to introduce himself on the national stage and to champion reproductive rights , an issue that has gotten far more air time at the convention. Not all climate advocates endorse the Democrats approach. Stevie OHanlon, a spokeswoman for the Sunrise Movement, a climate group led by young people, said the party shouldnt be afraid to discuss the issue head-on. There is a big opportunity to lean into talking about climate change more, she said. It is one of the clearest areas of contrast between Harris and Trump. And it is a winning message, especially for young voters. OHanlon said that by not emphasizing the issue, Harris risks allowing her opponents to control the narrative. If shes not putting out her own message about what she stands for on climate, then Republicans and Big Oil are going to define her position for her, she said. So I think theres a huge political downside to not speaking out and defining what she actually believes. Edward Maibach, who directs George Mason Universitys Center for Climate Change Communication, said talking about climate action could alienate 20 to 30 percent of the electorate but those voters were never going to support Harris anyway. A lot of candidates and officeholders and political strategists are needlessly timid about talking about climate change, he said. They fear that if they talk about climate change, it will alienate a lot of people. But in fact, it tends to alienate relatively few people who arent very likely to support them in the first place. Recent polling conducted by George Mason and Yale University found that roughly 62 percent of registered voters would prefer to vote for a candidate who supports action on global warming. This includes 97 percent of liberal Democrats, 81 percent of moderate Democrats, 62 percent of independents, 47 percent of liberal to moderate Republicans and 17 percent of conservative Republicans. Yet of 28 issues, global warming ranks 19th in importance to registered voters, the polling found. Voters placed a greater priority on other issues, including abortion , border security, the economy, inflation and gun control. Those results are consistent with a recent Gallup survey that found inflation and immigration rank among Americans top concerns. Several environmental groups are spending heavily right now in an effort to boost Harriss campaign and are directing their message on climate to a more targeted set of voters. The new $55 million ad blitz will run in at least six swing states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. They were designed by the LCV Victory Fund, the political arm of the League of Conservation Voters; EDF Action Votes, the political arm of the Environmental Defense Fund; Climate Power, a strategic communications firm; and Future Forward, a Democratic Party-aligned super PAC. Pete Maysmith, senior vice president of campaigns at the League of Conservation Voters, said future ads may tackle climate change more overtly, including on social media. He said canvassers for the group also regularly bring up the issue, which is almost unavoidable in extremely hot weather. I can assure you it comes up as part of the conversation when its 110 degrees out, Maysmith said. On Aug. 10, Harris thanked her supporters for braving the 108-degree heat to attend a rally in Las Vegas. She used the opportunity to briefly criticize Trumps climate record, saying he intends to surrender our fight against the climate crisis. Harris has used a nearly identical line at events this month in Eau Claire, Wis.; Glendale, Ariz.; San Francisco; and Phoenix. Volunteers for the Environmental Voter Project, which seeks to increase turnout among environmentalists, do not mention climate change that often when canvassing. Instead, they work with data scientists to identify people who are likely to prioritize the issue but have not voted in recent elections. Then they encourage them to vote by knocking on their doors and suggesting that others on their block plan to vote, too. That is a bit of peer pressure, completely, said Nathaniel Stinnett, founder and executive director of the EVP. People are more likely to do something that they think other people like them are doing. During three hours of canvassing on Saturday in Philadelphia, however, no one answered the door for a pair of EVP volunteers. Only Samantha Bush, 40, who was not on the volunteers list, stopped to talk on her front stoop. She said her top priorities in this election were womens rights, racial justice and access to affordable housing. The environment is not my top thing, she said. Sorry.