October 14, 2015

Clinton and Sanders Just Came Out Hard on the Issue Republicans Refuse to Talk About

During the first Democratic debate in Las Vegas, climate change roared into focus.

Democratic candidates squared off during Tueday night's debate in Las Vegas.John Locher/AP Photo


Republicans are largely silent on climate change. Democrats shout it loud. That’s the message from tonight’s debate in Las Vegas that was broadcast on CNN. Climate change was an awkward, 11th-hour topic in the second GOP debate last month that nobody seemed to want to talk about, in an exchange that lasted for only about four minutes. On Tuesday night, climate change roared into focus. Global warming was introduced as a big, banner election theme for the Democrats onstage. All but one spoke about it during opening remarks.

“I want to address climate change, a real threat to our planet,” said former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee in the opening minutes of the debate.

“We must square our shoulders to the great challenge of climate change and make this threat our opportunity,” former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley told the audience. “The future is what we make of it. We are all in this together. And the question in this election is whether you and I still have the ability to give our kids a better future.”

Then, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, went even further. “Today, the scientific community is virtually unanimous,” he said. “Climate change is real, it is caused by human activity, and we have a moral responsibility to transform our energy system away from fossil fuel to energy efficiency and sustainable energy and leave this planet a habitable planet for our children and our grandchildren.” Later, Sanders described climate change as the greatest national security threat.

Hillary Clinton, the current Democratic front-runner, framed climate change as an economic opportunity. “I’ve traveled across our country over the last months listening and learning,” she said. “And I’ve put forward specific plans about how we’re going to create more good-paying jobs: by investing in infrastructure and clean energy, by making it possible once again to invest in science and research, and taking the opportunity posed by climate change to grow our economy.”

More Mother Jones reporting on Climate Desk

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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