Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York made a splash in March when she announced another version of her infamous “Green New Deal,” but the legislation had nothing to do with Congress passing it. Maybe there’s a secret strategy.
Ocasio-Cortez originally proposed a multitrillion-dollar proposal in 2019, but the bill was heavily criticized by many on the right, who called it prohibitively expensive, unconstitutional, and expansive. In a particularly embarrassing episode, a draft bill was released and was ridiculed by critics for including language banning emissions from “farting cows.” It has since been removed.
Fossil fuel advocate Daniel Turner said the new version may be narrower in scope, but it’s still dangerous and contrary to traditional American principles.
Mr Turner slammed the new bill in an interview with Blaze Media, characterizing it as part of a campaign to redefine words to advance far-left agendas.
“The term ‘Green New Deal’ is going to sound a lot like ‘health crisis,'” he says.
Turner said the Biden administration is using the idea of a “health crisis” to put any “progressive agenda” on its eternal wish list.
He cited the Biden administration’s ban on menthol cigarettes as an example of expanded government regulation under the guise of public health.
“And now you can’t smoke menthol cigarettes. You can smoke other cigarettes, but they want to ban menthol cigarettes because it’s a crisis,” Turner explained. “So all you have to do is label something a crisis, and all of a sudden you have supernatural wisdom and extra-constitutional authority because you gave it that title.”
It’s no coincidence that Ocasio-Cortez is targeting housing, he says, because “generally speaking, public housing is a favorite pet of the left.”
Housing is not a human right
Mr. Turner focused on a crucial aspect of the bill that changes U.S. policy: guaranteeing the right to housing for all individuals.
The proposal not only makes housing a human right, but also states that governments should provide affordable housing to each individual. through spending This amounts to $25 trillion over 10 years.
“Rights is one of the words that the left likes to use, because once you decide something is a right, the government has an obligation to enforce that right,” Turner said.
“That’s why there are so few rights enumerated in the Constitution. The government has a responsibility to protect the people’s rights to speech, press, assembly, religion, etc.,” he continued. “But declaring housing a right creates an obligation to fulfill that right, and that has never been part of the understanding of our government, its functions, and our society.”
Turner went on to compare this proposal to rights granted by socialist democracies in Western Europe, where workers are far less productive and earn far less than workers in the United States.
“So, once again, we are pushing America out of its element,” he said.
But he believes the “Green New Deal” will be used as a label to increase government control in other areas of public policy.
“There’s going to be a Green New Deal for transportation, a Green New Deal for everything. And that’s going to be an excuse to promote progressive government-issued products,” he added.
The secret strategy behind the bill
Turner opined that there may be a strategy behind the bill that has nothing to do with its actual passage. Progressives say that while the Green New Deal could not pass on its own, the original bill was successful in pushing the Biden administration toward passing climate legislation.
“That’s exactly what we’re dealing with on the modern progressive left: obfuscation, deception, and outright lies,” he explained.
Even Biden admitted that the multi-trillion dollar “inflation control bill” was actually a way to use the inflation crisis to impose global warming policies on the US economy. Turner said legislative history provides ample evidence to support this theory.
“When they controlled both houses of Congress and the White House, from 2021 to January 2023, they could have easily passed the Green New Deal as a bill, and they didn’t. And parenthetically, they could have introduced a lot of legislation, loan forgiveness, abortion legislation, but they did. I can tell you it wasn’t,” Turner said.
“So while they praised the Green New Deal as part of their legislative strategy, they had the authority to do so and never did,” he concluded.
“Ideology trumps reality”
Turner went on to say that this bill is a perfect example of Democrats manipulating the definition of words to serve their political ideology.
“If I can control your words, I can control your reality,” he explained. “Their manipulation of language, from ‘rights’ to ‘housing’ to ‘Green New Deal,’ is just hiding behind other words like ‘Cut Inflation Act.’ “They never honestly present their agenda.”
“They know it’s incredibly unpopular and can’t stand on its own two feet, so they try to sneak it through the back door.”
Turner said the housing issue shows how Democrats are leaning toward control of government, despite their repeated failures.
“I’m from New York City, and the New York Housing Authority (NYCHA) is always in the news because it’s the biggest landlord in the city and it’s the slums. And it’s the government. Because there is no incentive for the Housing Authority (NYCHA) to make sure the heating works, the electricity works, and the pipes don’t freeze, there is no incentive for upkeep, maintenance, or even safety. No,” Turner said.
“Yet the private sector gets spot checks for asbestos and lead paint and gets fined off the roof. But when the government is the housing authority, all of that is ignored,” he said. explained.
A 2023 poll from the Bipartisan Policy Center found that a majority of Americans want Congress to focus on increasing the availability of low-income housing, but 71% I did not know About programs already available.
“Why would you want more? Why do we need more government involvement in housing when it’s just a disaster for the units they operate, and they’re also driving up housing prices for the rest of New Yorkers?” “Because there are so few homes. Once New York City takes control of a certain percentage of the apartments on Manhattan Island, the remaining rent goes through the roof,” he continued.
“If you scratch your head, you’ll see that their ideology trumps reality,” Turner concluded.
Daniel Turner is a fossil fuel advocate and founder and executive director of Power the Future, a national nonprofit organization that fights for America’s energy workers in rural areas.
Blaze Media reached out to Ocasio-Cortez and gave her plenty of time to comment, but her office did not respond.
Blaze Media also asked the bill’s co-sponsor, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), for comment on its cost, but his office did not respond.
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