Mar 27, 2019
After House Republicans on Tuesday derided the Green New Deal as a policy that would only serve "rich liberals," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded with a powerful call for bold climate action as families across the nation suffer from record flooding, lead-poisoned water, and polluted air.
"This is not an elitist issue, this is a quality of life issue," said the congresswoman from New York. "You want to tell people that their concern and their desire for clean air and clean water is elitist? Tell that to the kids in the south Bronx which are suffering from the highest rates of childhood asthma in the country. Tell that to the families in Flint."
"People are dying," she continued. "This is serious. This should not be a partisan issue. This is about our constituents and all of our lives."
\u201cWatch every second of this... @AOC is so incredibly spot on.\u201d— Brian Tyler Cohen (@Brian Tyler Cohen) 1553646727
Addressing concerns about the costs of implementing a Green New Deal, Ocasio-Cortez said, "We're going to pay for this whether we pass a Green New Deal or not."
"Because as towns and cities go underwater, as wildfires ravage our communities, we're going to pay," she added. "And we are either going to decide if we're going to pay to react, or if we are going to pay to be proactive."
\u201c"We talk about cost\u2014we\u2019re going to pay for this whether we pass a Green New Deal or not. Because as towns and cities go underwater, as wildfires ravage our communities, we\u2019re going to pay. And we have to decide whether we\u2019re going to pay to react, or pay to be proactive."\n-@AOC\u201d— Brian Tyler Cohen (@Brian Tyler Cohen) 1553646727
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
After House Republicans on Tuesday derided the Green New Deal as a policy that would only serve "rich liberals," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded with a powerful call for bold climate action as families across the nation suffer from record flooding, lead-poisoned water, and polluted air.
"This is not an elitist issue, this is a quality of life issue," said the congresswoman from New York. "You want to tell people that their concern and their desire for clean air and clean water is elitist? Tell that to the kids in the south Bronx which are suffering from the highest rates of childhood asthma in the country. Tell that to the families in Flint."
"People are dying," she continued. "This is serious. This should not be a partisan issue. This is about our constituents and all of our lives."
\u201cWatch every second of this... @AOC is so incredibly spot on.\u201d— Brian Tyler Cohen (@Brian Tyler Cohen) 1553646727
Addressing concerns about the costs of implementing a Green New Deal, Ocasio-Cortez said, "We're going to pay for this whether we pass a Green New Deal or not."
"Because as towns and cities go underwater, as wildfires ravage our communities, we're going to pay," she added. "And we are either going to decide if we're going to pay to react, or if we are going to pay to be proactive."
\u201c"We talk about cost\u2014we\u2019re going to pay for this whether we pass a Green New Deal or not. Because as towns and cities go underwater, as wildfires ravage our communities, we\u2019re going to pay. And we have to decide whether we\u2019re going to pay to react, or pay to be proactive."\n-@AOC\u201d— Brian Tyler Cohen (@Brian Tyler Cohen) 1553646727
After House Republicans on Tuesday derided the Green New Deal as a policy that would only serve "rich liberals," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded with a powerful call for bold climate action as families across the nation suffer from record flooding, lead-poisoned water, and polluted air.
"This is not an elitist issue, this is a quality of life issue," said the congresswoman from New York. "You want to tell people that their concern and their desire for clean air and clean water is elitist? Tell that to the kids in the south Bronx which are suffering from the highest rates of childhood asthma in the country. Tell that to the families in Flint."
"People are dying," she continued. "This is serious. This should not be a partisan issue. This is about our constituents and all of our lives."
\u201cWatch every second of this... @AOC is so incredibly spot on.\u201d— Brian Tyler Cohen (@Brian Tyler Cohen) 1553646727
Addressing concerns about the costs of implementing a Green New Deal, Ocasio-Cortez said, "We're going to pay for this whether we pass a Green New Deal or not."
"Because as towns and cities go underwater, as wildfires ravage our communities, we're going to pay," she added. "And we are either going to decide if we're going to pay to react, or if we are going to pay to be proactive."
\u201c"We talk about cost\u2014we\u2019re going to pay for this whether we pass a Green New Deal or not. Because as towns and cities go underwater, as wildfires ravage our communities, we\u2019re going to pay. And we have to decide whether we\u2019re going to pay to react, or pay to be proactive."\n-@AOC\u201d— Brian Tyler Cohen (@Brian Tyler Cohen) 1553646727
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.