November, 01 2020, 11:00pm EDT
More Than 50 Editorial Board Endorsements Confirm Climate Is Top Electoral Issue in Presidential Race
A new analysis of national and state endorsements from major editorial boards shows climate change has emerged this year as an often cited reason media outlets opted to endorse in the 2020 presidential election. The politics of climate change are driving voting behavior and influencing the political debate.
Across the country and in key battleground states, 51 editorial boards and outlets put climate change alongside COVID-19, the economy, and health care, as the most important issues facing the country.
WASHINGTON
A new analysis of national and state endorsements from major editorial boards shows climate change has emerged this year as an often cited reason media outlets opted to endorse in the 2020 presidential election. The politics of climate change are driving voting behavior and influencing the political debate.
Across the country and in key battleground states, 51 editorial boards and outlets put climate change alongside COVID-19, the economy, and health care, as the most important issues facing the country.
This increased focus on the climate crisis follows voters' changing attitude toward the issue -- as now a majority of voters, including Republican-leaning women, voters of color, and younger voters view climate change as a priority for both the next administration and Congress. An Economist/YouGov poll, also released last week, found that climate is the number three issue among all voters and is the number two issue for Democrats and young voters age 18-29.
This attention to the climate crisis comes as the country has been gripped with extreme weather that has cost our economy millions and put the lives and health of Americans at risk. This year alone, more than 8.5 million acres have burned on the West Coast and the Gulf Coast have been hit with back-to-back supercharged hurricanes -- including the recent Hurricane Zeta, which has left millions without power and three dead.
A clear underlying theme in these endorsements is the threat to our climate and how Trump and his anti-climate agenda can cause irreparable damage to our air, water, and public lands. The Trump administration has already rolled back more than 125 critical environmental protections -- all of which disproportionately affect Black and Latino communities.
Since mid-October, when Climate Power 2020 released its initial analysis, close to 30 media outlets, both nationally and in key battleground states, have cited clean energy, environmental racism, climate, and conservation issues as a major factor in their endorsement decision. In total, Climate Power 2020 identified 51 outlets that referenced climate change as a reason for their endorsements during the general election. The most recent endorsements are below:
National Endorsements
The Atlantic: "Trump has brought our country low; he has divided our people; he has pitted race against race; he has corrupted our democracy; he has shown contempt for American ideals; he has made cruelty a sacrament; he has provided comfort to propagators of hate; he has abandoned America's allies; he has aligned himself with dictators; he has encouraged terrorism and mob violence; he has undermined the agencies and departments of government; he has despoiled the environment; he has opposed free speech; he has lied frenetically and evangelized for conspiracism; he has stolen children from their parents."
The Guardian: "It's not just Americans for whom Mr. Biden is a better bet. The world could breathe easier with Mr. Trump gone...On climate change, Mr. Biden would return the United States to the Paris agreement and give the world a fighting chance to keep global temperatures in check. With a President Biden there would be a glimmer of hope that the US would return as a guarantor of a rules-based international order."
La Opinion: "A vote for Biden and against Trump is a vote to fight the coronavirus with the guidance of scientists and it is their most urgent task. It is a vote to respond urgently and without delay to the imminent disaster of climate change based on international cooperation. It is a vote to save health coverage from the damage caused by Trump by making a public insurance plan like Medicare, with subsidies for low- and moderate-income people, available to the uninsured."
Rolling Stone: "Biden, by contrast, believes in science, and names the "existential threat" we are facing in global warming. He has embraced the spirit of the Green New Deal, outlining a path to limit the catastrophic heating of the planet by achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. This would be realized through a $2 trillion investment in America -- including clean-energy plants, solarized and weatherized homes, and carbon-free transportation networks -- that would create millions of sustainable jobs. "When Donald Trump thinks about climate change, the only word he can muster is 'hoax,' " Biden has said. "When I think about climate change, the word I think of is 'jobs.'"
USA Today: "Beset by disease, economic suffering, a racial reckoning and natural disasters fueled by a changing climate, the nation is dangerously off course. We spoke to dozens of people in Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin, battleground states that helped propel Trump into the White House in 2016. Many declined to comment, citing a general disgust with the election or fear of speaking out publicly."
Washington Jewish Week: "As a senator, Biden led from the center, across party lines, and was universally liked and respected. As vice president to the first African American president, he demonstrated an ability to lead effectively in an increasingly multicultural America. And as president, we believe he will bring integrity, civility and compassion to the White House. He will listen to scientists and other experts when it comes to fighting the coronavirus and climate change. He will use taxation and government spending to address serious domestic policy issues. And we hope that he will use his bully pulpit in today's times of uncertainty as a platform to unite our fractured country and reform and reconstruct our civic institutions."
NY Daily News: "Still, Biden has outlined bold plans to confront major American challenges. He would strengthen, not undermine, the health-care foundation that is the Affordable Care Act. He respects what immigrants contribute to the national fabric and wants to improve gun-safety laws. He would combat climate change and ramp up renewable energy production. He has urgent, coherent plans to beat back the coronavirus."
Endorsements in States
California
- The Times-Herald: "It's time to heal and work to unite the country. To stem the spread of the coronavirus, rebuild the economy, honestly confront racial and economic inequality, aggressively address climate change and reestablish the nation as a respected world leader."
Indiana
- Tribune-Star: "Biden has focused on issues most important to Americans, issues such as health care, economic justice and climate change. His values of decency, civility, inclusion, fairness and equality for all closely reflect what America can be and should be."
- The Herald Bulletin: "But Biden also has strong convictions. His proposal to wean America off polluting fossil fuels would mitigate climate change and create millions of jobs. His promise to confront, not ignore, systemic racism would dig at the deep roots of a pervasive problem that has plagued the country for hundreds of years."
Iowa
- The Daily Iowan: "Keeping with science, Biden knows climate change is not a hoax. While he wasn't the first choice of environmental activists or ourselves, his plan to cut net carbon emissions down to zero puts us on the right track instead of running backward. While Biden must become more aggressive, the planet cannot wait another four years of Trump's do-nothing policy on the climate crisis."
- The Daily Nonpareil: "Biden will, again, listen to scientists when it comes to climate change and environmental policy.---- Rolling back environmental protections -- a USA Today report noted nearly 100 environmental rollbacks the Trump administration has pursued over the past four years to loosen regulations on everything from air and water quality to wildlife."
Maine
- The Times Record: "Biden's 36 years as senator and nine years as vice president have produced a track record showing him capable of handling a vast array of foreign and domestic issues. Today, what makes Biden most appealing to us is his willingness to listen to scientists and experts, such Dr. Anthony Fauci, in addressing our current medical and environmental crises. That's in stark contrast to the current administration, which forms policies at the whim of the president's fragile ego."
Massachusetts
- Eagle-Tribune: "We also expect Biden to refocus the United States on addressing climate change and its contributors. Apart from public health policy, no issue controlled by the White House has a more significant bearing on our coastal region north of Boston. Having quit the global effort to combat and deal with climate change, the U.S. desperately needs to return to the table."
- Gloucester Times: "We also expect Biden to refocus the United States on addressing climate change and its contributors. Apart from public health policy, no issue controlled by the White House has a more significant bearing on our coastal region north of Boston. Having quit the global effort to combat and deal with climate change, the U.S. desperately needs to return to the table."
- The Salem News: "We also expect Biden to refocus the United States on addressing climate change and its contributors. Apart from public health policy, no issue controlled by the White House has a more significant bearing on our coastal region north of Boston. Having quit the global effort to combat and deal with climate change, the U.S. desperately needs to return to the table."
- The Recorder: "Biden has plans based on science in place to help the nation heal itself from COVID-19 and to bring stronger attention to our environment."
Nebraska
- Omaha World-Herald: "The list of issues Biden has seen debated, and helped address, in the Senate is impressively long and notable. Here is a small sampling: Renewals of the federal Voting Rights Act. The extent of presidential war powers. Strategies for strengthening U.S. military effectiveness. Details of environmental regulation. Restructuring the nation's intelligence community. Support for disabled Americans."
New Hampshire
- Valley News: "Biden will need all of his empathy and grace, and all of his knowledge and experience, to build America back better, especially its pandemic-shattered economy, and also to unite and mobilize the majority of Americans who recognize the urgent need to address climate change, establish social, economic and racial justice, fix our warped and cruel immigration policies, provide all Americans with access to affordable health care, and enact common-sense measures to reduce gun violence."
New Jersey
- The Record: "We believe all Americans deserve a healthy natural environment. We believe we must acknowledge and work to slow the devastating impacts of climate change."
New Mexico
- Albuquerque Journal: "Regarding climate change, Biden has a plan similar to New Mexico's Energy Transition Act. Trump has rolled back some Obama-era climate initiatives and has in the past called climate change a "hoax." He recently acknowledged a human role."
New York
- New York Carib News: "His climate change denial is more of a threat to the people on the planet than earth itself; the earth will survive, the inhabitants will not. His blatant interference in the politics of the Region, increasing the unnecessary embargo on Cuba, trying to install his hand-picked president in Venezuela and tipping the scale in Guyana."
- The Post Standard: "Biden, who will be 78 in a few weeks, has a long list of tasks ahead should he prevail. He must get the coronavirus pandemic under control, kick-start the economy, fix or replace Obamacare, tackle the climate crisis, restore key environmental protections, address systemic racism, repair international alliances and be prepared to meet the next crisis."
- Staten Island Advance: "They'll argue he was right to play tough guy with world leaders by pulling out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which ironically takes effect the day after the election. Never mind that scientists across the globe say warming is a threat. The president labels it a hoax."
Pennsylvania
- The Patriot Press: "Not only does Biden plan to adhere to the guidance of expert scientists in regards to the coronavirus, but he also believes in the severity of climate change. The environment is in extreme danger: ice sheets are shrinking, the global temperature is rising, and hurricanes are becoming stronger and more frequent. With an increasing amount of damage from natural disasters, climate change also hurts the economy. If the president elected this November does not recognize climate change as a serious threat, the future of our country will be at stake."
- The Tribune-Democrat: "Leadership also means building for the future, ensuring a strong America for our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Biden's understanding of that responsibility is embedded in his climate policies. They include installing electric vehicle refueling stations along highways, reducing carbon emissions from fossil fuel plants, developing affordable alternative energies such as solar and wind power, protecting our eroding coastal shores. We ignore the need to address these economic and environmental realities at our peril."
West Virginia
- The Charleston Gazette-Mail: "The federal level, Trump's moves to roll back environmental regulations haven't done anything to improve the coal industry. One after another, many of the nation's largest coal companies have filed for bankruptcy."
Climate Power 2020 is putting the Trump administration on defense every single day for ignoring experts, refusing to believe in science, surrendering our government to big oil executives, and gutting public health protections, all at the expense of future generations. The 2020 presidential election is the defining moment for how our nation addresses the climate crisis--our leaders must be emboldened to take immediate action on climate change and to build a just and equitable economy. The time to act is now. Learn more: climatepower2020.org
LATEST NEWS
Sanders, Booker, and Welch Unveil Ban on Junk Food Ads Targeting Kids
"We cannot continue to allow large corporations in the food and beverage industry to put their profits over the health and wellbeing of our children," said Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Apr 19, 2024
A trio of U.S. senators on Friday introduced what's being billed as first-of-its-kind legislation sponsors say will "take on the greed of the food and beverage industry and address the growing diabetes and obesity epidemics" with a federal ban on junk food ads targeting children.
The Childhood Diabetes Reduction Act—introduced by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.)—would also require warning labels "on sugar-sweetened foods and beverages; foods and beverages containing non-sugar sweeteners; ultra-processed foods; and foods high in nutrients of concern, such as added sugar, saturated fat, or sodium."
"Let's be clear: The twin crises of type 2 diabetes and obesity in America are being fueled by the food and beverage industry that, for decades, has been making massive profits by enticing children to consume unhealthy products purposely designed to be overeaten," Sanders—who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee—said in a statement. "We cannot continue to allow large corporations in the food and beverage industry to put their profits over the health and wellbeing of our children."
"Nearly 30 years ago, Congress had the courage to take on the tobacco industry, whose products killed more than 400,000 Americans every year," Sanders added. "Now is the time for Congress to act with the same sense of urgency to combat these diabetes and obesity epidemics. That means banning junk food ads targeted to kids and putting strong warning labels on food and beverages with unacceptably high levels of sugar, salt, and saturated fat."
Booker said that "the future of our nation depends on a continued investment in the health and wellbeing of our children," adding that "more and more of our children are developing diabetes and obesity primarily because a handful of corporate food giants push addictive, ultra-processed foods to drive up their profits."
"By banning junk food advertising to children, implementing front-of-package warning labels, and funding research on the dangers of ultra-processed foods, we can rein in the predatory behavior of big food companies and ensure a healthier future for generations to come," he added.
As the senators noted:
Today, more than 35 million Americans are struggling with type 2 diabetes—90% of whom are overweight or obese. These crises go hand-in-hand and children are severely impacted. Today, 1 out of 5 five kids are living with obesity. A serious illness unto itself, diabetes is also a contributing factor to heart disease, stroke, amputations, blindness, and kidney failure. Unless the U.S. dramatically changes course, these numbers will continue to grow exponentially.
The impact on the economy is enormous: Last year, the total cost of diabetes exceeded $400 billion, approximately 10% of overall U.S. healthcare expenditures.
Meanwhile, the U.S. food and beverage industry spends about $14 billion annually on marketing unhealthy products, with $2 billion of that spent on advertising these products to children.
"Our food environment has become dominated by ultra-processed foods that have more in common with a cigarette than a fruit or vegetable," said Ashley Gearhardt, director of the Food and Addiction Science & Treatment Lab at the University of Michigan. "Many ultra-processed foods are hyperpalatable and trigger the core signs of addiction, like intense cravings and a loss of control over intake."
"The American public is not adequately warned about the risks associated with these products and children are a key marketing demographic for ultra-processed foods with unhealthy nutrient profiles," Gearhardt added. "The Childhood Diabetes Reduction Act is a courageous step towards promoting the physical and mental health of American children."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Complaints of Pregnant Patients Denied Emergency Care Surged After Dobbs
"MAGA abortion bans deny women lifesaving care," one critic said in response to reporting on patient stories.
Apr 19, 2024
New reporting from The Associated Press that complaints of pregnant patients turned away from emergency departments "spiked" after the reversal of Roe v. Wade sparked fresh condemnation of efforts to restrict abortion rights on Friday.
Since the right-wing U.S. Supreme Court ended nearly half a century of nationwide abortion rights with Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization in June 2022, over 20 states have enacted new restrictions on reproductive healthcare, creating a culture of confusion and fear at many medical facilities.
Early last year, the AP submitted a public records request for 2022 complaints filed under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), a federal law that requires hospitals and emergency departments that accept Medicare to provide screenings to patients who request them and prohibits refusing to treat individuals with an emergency medical condition.
"This is the reality that extreme Republicans call 'pro-life.'"
"One year after submitting the request, the federal government agreed to release only some complaints and investigative documents filed across just 19 states," the AP's Amanda Seitz reported. "The names of patients, doctors, and medical staff were redacted from the documents."
"One woman miscarried in the lobby restroom of a Texas emergency room as front desk staff refused to admit her," the journalist detailed. "Another woman learned that her fetus had no heartbeat at a Florida hospital, the day after a security guard turned her away from the facility. And in North Carolina, a woman gave birth in a car after an emergency room couldn't offer an ultrasound. The baby later died."
According to Seitz:
Emergency rooms are subject to hefty fines when they turn away patients, fail to stabilize them, or transfer them to another hospital for treatment. Violations can also put hospitals' Medicare funding at risk.
But it's unclear what fines might be imposed on more than a dozen hospitals that the Biden administration says failed to properly treat pregnant patients in 2022.
It can take years for fines to be levied in these cases. The Health and Human Services agency, which enforces the law, declined to share if the hospitals have been referred to the agency's Office of Inspector General for penalties.
Responding to the reporting on social media, journalist Jane Mayer declared, "This is barbaric."
Texas Poor People's Campaign said that women in the state "are being left to die in ER waiting rooms. We cannot let this policy violence against women continue. Please join us as we mobilize voters for the '24 election."
Going into November, abortion has been a key issue at the state and federal level. Supporters of reproductive freedom are working to advance various ballot measures while Democratic President Joe Biden's campaign has highlighted his support for abortion rights and the presumptive Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, has bragged about his role in reversing Roe—he appointed three of the six justices behind the majority opinion.
"MAGA abortion bans deny women lifesaving care," stressed Alex Wall, senior vice president for digital advocacy at the Center for American Progress. Citing examples from Texas and Florida in the AP report, he reiterated, "MAGA Republicans did this."
Congresswoman Becca Balint (D-Vt.) said that "this is the reality that extreme Republicans call 'pro-life'—pregnant women being turned away at hospitals and emergency centers. Absolutely disgraceful. No woman should ever be denied emergency care."
Slate's Mark Joseph Stern, who covers U.S. legal battles, noted that this "devastating and timely story" from Seitz comes "just days before the Supreme Court considers whether emergency rooms can legally force patients to the brink of death before terminating a failing pregnancy."
The high court is set to hear arguments in that case Wednesday. The Biden administration is challenging Idaho's near-total ban on abortion, which "would make it a criminal offense for doctors to comply with EMTALA's requirement to provide stabilizing treatment, even where a doctor determines that abortion is the medical treatment necessary to prevent a patient from suffering severe health risks or even death," as the U.S. Department of Justice's lawsuit explains.
The Justice Department is seeking a judgment that Idaho's law is invalid under the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution and "is preempted by federal law to the extent that it conflicts with EMTALA."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Progressives Oppose Israel Funding Advanced by US House
"Congress is shamefully choosing a failed approach of fueling genocide rather than saving Palestinian and Israeli lives," said Rep. Cori Bush.
Apr 19, 2024
Progressive lawmakers on Friday dissented as the Republican-controlled U.S. House advanced legislation to provide more military funding to Israel as well as Ukraine and Taiwan, with Rep. Cori Bush condemning a committee's refusal to consider an amendment aimed at securing a permanent cease-fire in Gaza.
The legislation passed a procedural hurdle in a vote of 316-94, placing votes for the separate aid packages and a bill calling for more humanitarian assistance to Gaza on the legislative agenda for Saturday.
Bush (D-Mo.) joined progressives including Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) in opposing the legislation, with centrist Democratic Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina also voting with the left-wing faction.
The Missouri Democrat condemned the House Rules Committee's refusal to consider an amendment she submitted along with Tlaib, which called for a lasting cease-fire, a release of all hostages in Israel and Palestine, and "diplomacy to secure self-determination for both Palestinians and Israelis."
"Congress is shamefully choosing a failed approach of fueling genocide rather than saving Palestinian and Israeli lives, releasing the hostages and others arbitrarily detained, and prioritizing peace in the region," said Bush.
The funding package includes $26.4 billion for Israel, purportedly to support "its effort to defend itself against Iran and its proxies" following Iran's retaliatory drone attack on Israel this week—to which Israeli forces responded with a limited attack on Friday.
The new military aid was passed on top of more than 100 weapons transfers the Biden administration has made to Israel since October 7. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, two of the transfers were reviewed by Congress and totaled about $250 million.
"Our country spends billions of tax dollars to maintain this apartheid state and support the continued ethnic cleansing of Palestinians," said Tlaib, the only Palestinian American member of Congress, in a statement on Thursday.
Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) said she was "encouraged" that Democrats in Congress were able to secure more humanitarian aid for Gaza, where dozens of people have starved to death as Israel has blocked nearly the vast majority of aid shipments since October, but said the provisions do not "come close to meeting the desperate needs of the people in Gaza," particularly considering the United States' suspension of funds to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
"Americans will remember this moment," said Balint. "The United States must be firm in demanding a course correction from the Netanyahu government. Without a strong message against more offensive aid, the United States risks signaling support for an expanded offensive in Rafah, for an escalation with Iran, and for continued disregard for Palestinian life."
Omar called the funding package part of the U.S. government's "thinly veiled attempts to escalate an already very dangerous situation."
"What is needed most of all is a sober approach to de-escalation and conflict prevention," said the congresswoman. "Congress should be focused on efforts to de-escalate tensions—not inflame them."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular