Opinion: I’m a Young Conservative, and I Want My Party to Lead the Fight Against Climate Change
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/27/opinion/climate-change-conservatives-gen-z-voters.html?unlocked_article_code=1.nk0.mpqz.CcroPSPL4FBy&smid=re-nytimes
by thenewyorktimes
36 comments
If you’re a young person and concerned about the environment and you support the GOP you’re…. either lying about your beliefs, or you’re incredibly stupid.
This guy was on The Hill’s “Rising” YT show.
https://youtu.be/oLoEigCN3JQ?si=CkQXGz-FrRTEfNRg
He’s a complete charlatan. So many red flags.
Just the latest generation of misinformation and delaying tactics.
OP maybe you need to reconsider your ideology.
What makes you believe you are a conservative?
Do you believe in ‘small government’ like conservatives like to espouse?
Every conservative president has grown the size of the government. Conservative state governments across the country are taking away basic rights like healthcare, deciding who you can marry, even the simple freedom to smoke weed.
As for climate change, I hate to tell you but conservatives simply DO NOT BELIEVE IN CLIMATE CHANGE.
I’m not going to make a joke here. I’m going to naively assume you are sincere.
If that’s the case, then you need to get oil money out of your party. And no, pointing out leftist oil money isn’t a valid substitute for doing so.
You need to oust every single old-guard conservative who collects a check from fossil fuel firms and advocate for laws that prevent lobbying in the future. You need to un-politicize climate change.
Then, you need to evangelize companies adopting a triple-bottom-line business model so as to not allow stakeholders (including the environment) to be neglected in the pursuit of shareholder gain.
If you truly believe businesses can save us from the climate emergency then they need to put their money where their mouth is. They need to accept a carbon tax, adopt a widely agreed industry-standard for each sector that shows how companies can get climate neutral, and the penalties for not doing so (internally policed and controlled), or show how they intend to compensate for their failure.
You need to encourage business grants for green energy projects, and punish companies that engage in bad-faith green-washing.
And on top of it all, you need to FERVENTLY police any right-leaning politician that starts to politicize climate change. No circling the wagons, no downplaying their words or actions. If a politician has a soundbite that shows they aren’t committed you make sure that is denounced on Fox news, Drudge report, and anywhere else the right gets their news. That politician needs to be treated as badly in the media as you treat liberals now, for (seemingly) the same reasons.
You’re party is a machine engaged in total war with what they perceive the left to be. If you actually care about climate change then you need to make a new enemy of climate change instead.
“I’m a full supporter of women’s rights but I think they should be treated as property and bow to a man’s will.”
What you said in a different context.
Good luck with that
Dealing with climate change in any capacity is more important than trying to “lead” the entire “fight”. Plenty of people are already leading the way. What’s left to do for some Conservatives to lead other Conservatives. But Conservatives sure as heck won’t lead anyone else is this area. That ship has sailed.
The GOP is never going to support the government using our taxes for programs other than national security. One of their core beliefs (pre MAGA at least) is to have the federal government stay as small as possible and creating departments to handle the situation is going to be costly. That’s not to mention their historical ties to the fossil fuel industries.
First thing to do is to leave the GOP – they will be full on throttle, no brakes well over the edge of the cliff.
It’s like a flat Earther who wants them to lead the fight against misinformation.
Good luck with that.
lol, what? 🤣
Wrong era for the Republican Party. You aren’t going to change that.
They don’t care about climate change or the poor for that matter. You picked the wrong political views for that kid.
Not going to happen. Climate preservation is not a policy platform regardless of what conservatives leaders say.
LOL
So you support the GOP but care about the environment? That’s funny.
Dear Young Conservative(s): The Conservatives are largely responsible for making climate change worse by prioritising economic profit and continued growth over the environment, safe emissions targets, sustainable resource management/extraction policies, and conservation initiatives.
They will be and currently are fighting against positive climate change initiatives, not leading them.
Or you could just join the party that’s leading the fight against climate change
The party won’t move on climate change unless they lose over and over due to climate change. So… vote Democratic and move the Overton window leftward
That NYT OPed reads like it’s straight out of that satirical Twitter account about unhinged NYT OPEDS.
good luck
Met this dude. He’s just raising for himself/org. If you voted for Trump twice you don’t care about climate.
Op’s a moron.
“I believe in faces but I’m part of the fave eating leopards party… help me convince them not to eat faces”
Ok….
Look the GoP cares about big business. So to get them on board with environmental issues you need to convince that’s it’s going to create jobs and capitalism. Etc etc.
If you’re young and a conservative, you’re dumber than a sack of hammers. Same if you’re old too.
As a dictionary conservative who learned about the great threat of climate change, I am forced to abandon republicans after the primaries because of the realpolitik of the situation. Similarly, I’m anti-Trump, and I don’t vote for him with the hope that he magically changes his policy goals just bc he’s labeled as the one I’m supposed to vote for.
Good luck with that
Young conservatives recognize climate change and STILL support the GOP?….. god save us
Then definitely don’t vote for Trump, because he wants to stop ALL progress toward renewables, and he wants to completely eliminate the EPA. And the Heritage Foundation is behind him 100% on this.
Uhhh, they’ve long since decided to just tell everyone else they’re wrong and crazy. So either:
You can single handedly steer the party back to sanity and beyond
-or-
Join the party that supports the climate
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It seems weird to support the party that consistently accelerates climate change if you care about fighting climate change.
Well your party isn’t into science, you’re either in the wrong party or you’re very confused.
“I’m a young conservative.”
So an idiot. Gotcha.
Why? If you care about climate change, vote for the party with the best climate policy. Or do you think it’s less important than suppressing women’s rights, vilifying brown people and push them into poverty, fearmongering about mexicans coming into the country, supporting child labour, trans- and queer genocide, and all the other *great* things that Republicans stand for?
You want fascism but “Green fascism”? Why?