Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Tuesday forced a vote on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's (D-NY) coveted "Green New Deal" legislation, which was supposed to be the end all, be of all of addressing climate change. When the legislation was first introduced, Democrats latched onto the bill with support. Even presidential candidates, like Sens. Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Kristen Gillibrand and Elizabeth Warren, supported the bill. But when it came time to put their money where their mouth was and actually vote, they couldn't even decide how to vote. They voted "present."
Not one single Democrat, including Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), the bill's co-sponsor voted in favor of the legislation.
Conservatives sounded off on the rather ironic move:
I was reliably informed that the Green New Deal was both incredibly popular and deeply necessary to save the planet. Yet not a single Democrat voted for it. Clearly they do not care about the children. We're all dead in 12 years, guys.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) March 26, 2019
Green New Deal is so popular that not a single Democrat would vote for it in the Senate, including its sponsor.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) March 26, 2019
Hey @AOC your green new deal just got ZERO votes in the Senate
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) March 26, 2019
Looks like socialism isn’t as popular as you make it seem
Wait. I don't understand! Why didn't Senate Dems vote yes on the Green New deal?? @AOC told me everyone loved it! She said it's winning legislation! She said it's popular and practical! All the Dem presidential hopefuls said "yas we love this!" What happened? :/
— Allie Beth Stuckey (@conservmillen) March 26, 2019
Not one senator voted for the Green New Deal today. My hot take: Politicians who want to be president should have the political courage either to vote for the proposals they say they support or to publicly oppose the policies for which they refuse to vote. https://t.co/Jdn9wLGIKS
— Alexandra DeSanctis (@xan_desanctis) March 26, 2019
And one common theme came up: Democrats are chickens. If they can't vote for something they've advocated for, then what does that say about them?
Voting present: a way to avoid standing for something because you're afraid. #GreenNewDeal
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) March 26, 2019
Live look at Democrat bravery: pic.twitter.com/1Kn4qJoWl3
The only thing that can save us our planet is the Green New Deal yet not one senator voted for it. Now all that is left is obliteration. The caribou will be the first to go. Then penguins. Finally, us. And we will deserve it. May the great mother Gaia exact her vengeance swiftly.
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) March 26, 2019
What's even more amazing though? Ocasio-Cortez isn't backing down from the legislation that is likely to become her legacy. She's currently promoting an MSNBC town hall that's taking place this weekend in her district:
We’re prepping for this week’s #GreenNewDeal Town Hall in the Bronx w/ @chrislhayes + @MSNBC!
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 26, 2019
What topics + questions would you like to see discussed on Friday? Let us know! ???????????
Join us: https://t.co/rbE2zj19A9 pic.twitter.com/0E9koqasrN
Democrats need to put their money where their mouth is. If they feel so strongly about climate change and believe the Green New Deal would make a difference, then why not vote for it? Probably because they haven't actually thought about the political repercussions of the legislation. Instead, they automatically threw their support behind it because it's what their base wanted.