Ocasio-Cortez Hits Alaska Gov. For Slamming ‘Green New Deal’; He Fires Back
Democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez got into a Twitter feud with Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Tuesday after the Republican governor said the congresswoman’s much-maligned Green New Deal — which would cost as much as $93 trillion by one think tank’s estimate and went down in flames 57-0 in the Senate in March — would utterly destroy his state’s economy.
Dunleavy’s pushback against the Green New Deal, which would impose a “net-zero” emissions policy, dismantle the fossil fuel industry, and promises universal healthcare and federally guaranteed jobs, is particularly unsurprising given his state’s booming oil and gas industry.
On Tuesday, RealClearNews’ Philip Wegmann tweeted out some highlights from his discussion with Dunleavy about the Green New Deal.
“What happens to Alaska if [Ocasio-Cortez’s] Green New Deal becomes real?” wrote Wegmann. “[Gov. Dunleavy] says, ‘it would impact our civilization as we know it.'”
In a follow-up post, Wegmann added that Dunleavy explained that “Oil would disappear[.] Gas would disappear[.] Coal would disappear[.] Alaska’s population would plummet.”
In response to Wegmann’s initial tweet about the Green New Deal “impact[ing] our civilization as we know it,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote, “Yeah that’s kind of the point.”
“The climate crisis threatens our way of life, and we must decarbonize our economy [and] way of life to save the planet,” she added in a follow-up tweet. “I wish it wasn’t such a bad situation too, but previous generations failed to act [and] now young people need to deal [with] the science of our future [and] create opportunity.”
Yeah that’s kind of the point twitter.com/philipwegmann/…
The climate crisis threatens our way of life, and we must decarbonize our economy & way of life to save the planet.
I wish it wasn’t such a bad situation too, but previous generations failed to act & now young people need to deal w the science of our future & create opportunity.
4,510 people are talking about this
The freshman congresswoman’s snarky “kind of the point” comment prompted a direct response from the Alaska governor, in which he made sure she understood exactly what he meant by her proposal’s threat to “our civilization.”
“Your Green New Deal would destroy Alaska’s economy,” Dunleavy wrote Tuesday.
“I invite you to visit Alaska, and I can personally show you how we responsibly develop America’s natural resources better than anyone,” he added. “You’re welcome anytime.”
Your Green New Deal would destroy Alaska’s economy.
I invite you to visit Alaska, and I can personally show you how we responsibly develop America’s natural resources better than anyone. You’re welcome anytime. twitter.com/aoc/status/118…
4,787 people are talking about this
As reported by Bloomberg in February, a GOP-aligned think tank led by a former director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that Ocasio-Cortez’s radical plan would cost between $51 trillion and $93 trillion.
“That includes between $8.3 trillion and $12.3 trillion to meet the plan’s call to eliminate carbon emissions from the power and transportation sectors and between $42.8 trillion and $80.6 trillion for its economic agenda including providing jobs and health care for all,” Bloomberg noted.
The next month, the Republican-led Senate forced a vote on the Green New Deal. Every Republican voted against it and four Democrats joined them. The rest of the Democrats simply voted “present,” giving the far-left proposal zero votes and a total tally of 57-0.
“The proposal addresses the small matter of eliminating the use of all fossil fuels nationwide in a 10-year time frame,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said at the time, as reported by The Washington Post. “This might sound like a neat idea in places like San Francisco or New York, the places that the Democratic Party seems totally focused on these days. But communities practically everywhere else would be absolutely crushed.”
