ICYMI: On Eve of Elections, Environmentalists Condemn Stein, Calling for Her to Drop Out
The Nation: I’m an Environmentalist. That’s Why I Can’t Vote Green.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, MoveOn Political Action spotlighted environmentalists from all around the world condemning third-party spoiler Jill Stein – calling for her to drop out of the race and cease boosting Donald Trump’s bid for the White House. In 2016, Stein’s vote totals in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin alone were enough to sink Hillary Clinton’s campaign and usher in Trump’s toxic, polluter presidency that rolled back Obama-era climate goals and took the United States out of the Paris climate accord.
Yesterday, the European Green Party released a statement calling for Jill Stein to withdraw from the race and endorse Kamala Harris – going so far as to blame Stein’s connections to Russia as a key reason the U.S. Green Party is no longer part of the global organization of Green parties. The statement says:
“… We are clear that Kamala Harris is the only candidate who can block Donald Trump and his anti-democratic, authoritarian policies from the White House. This election takes place at a watershed moment in the history of our planet. We face a climate crisis that is worsening every year, with heatwaves, floods, and a loss of biodiversity at a rate never seen before. Climate policies require democratic institutions, which we fear would be dismantled if Trump is elected … Right now, the race for the White House is too close for comfort. We call on Jill Stein to withdraw from the race, and endorse Kamala Harris for the presidency of the United States.”
Adding to the pile-on, several high-profile environmental organizations, including the League of Conservation Voters, Sierra Club, Sunrise Movement, NRDC Action Fund, and Friends of the Earth, penned an open letter to environmental advocates, urging them to back Vice President Harris over Jill Stein, saying, “Harris is a climate and justice leader with two decades of public service on the frontlines of needed progress and change.”
In possibly the most damning rebuke, environmentalist and filmmaker Josh Fox penned a scathing opinion piece in The Nation detailing his efforts to clean up the Delaware River Basin in Pennsylvania and Jill Stein’s absence in that fight. Read excerpts below:
“We banned fracking in the Delaware River basin and in New York State, saving the water supply for 16 million people. One of the greatest achievements of the environmental movement in this century.”
…
“You know who didn’t show up for this place? Jill Stein. She doesn’t show up for these frontline battles. Ever.”
“Stein says she’s against fracking, but Stein has hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in the oil and gas industry. Did you know that? Did you know that she actually profits off of the oil and gas industry, that she has had investments in the Keystone XL pipeline and multiple fracking companies?”
“But in order for us progressives to do our jobs and fight effectively for a more just and equitable world as a movement, we need to have Harris in office. If we have Donald Trump in office, there’s no chance in hell that we’re actually going to advance an environmental agenda.”
…
“A vote for Harris is a vote for us, a vote for our movements to have a fighting chance for change. Progressive politics and advancing our agenda in this country is not something that happens every four years when you vote, or every four years when a toxic egomaniac like Stein (or Trump, for that matter) runs for president. It is a daily commitment. So vote for Kamala Harris. Join the movement—and I’ll see you on the front lines.”
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