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Why aren’t Democrats talking about climate? (heated.world)
submitted 14 hours ago by to c/politics@lemmy.world
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But for how important this election will be for Planet Earth and the humans who live on it, the issue itself isn’t getting much airtime. Earlier this month, The Guardian examined the campaign websites of Democratic and Republican Senate candidates in eight battleground states. Of all the candidates surveyed, only two explicitly mentioned climate change.

This retreat hasn’t happened by accident. Over the last two years, some of the Democratic Party’s most influential strategists, donors, and think tanks have been explicitly telling candidates to shut up about climate change and focus on the economy instead—as if those were two separate issues.

It’s a strategy known as climate hushing. And with the midterms fast-approaching, it’s worth asking: Who convinced Democrats that ignoring climate change was a winning strategy? Does the evidence actually support that argument? And what is that silence costing the rest of us?

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[–] 51 points 13 hours ago (21 children)

Because the average household has gone insular given the financial problems of the day. Survival mode means you’re not looking globally but inside your own “house”.

You may not want to hear that, but it’s how most people, middle of the bell curve, function.

How am I going to pay rent? How am I getting to work to pay rent? How am I going to get healthy food for my kids? How many meals do I have to skip this week so my kids can have meals? How am I going to get gas money? How many holes can these socks and underwear endure before I have to buy new ones? How long until the bandaid around the sharp edges one the safety pin holding my bra together fails?

Shit like that is dominating people’s minds? Climate? Might as well be asking about space aliens and stardust. The processing power isn’t there right now. Again, it may not be ideal to you, but, middle of the bell curve, that’s how people function.

As such, answers to the daily survival questions are coming first.

Yes, it’s all moot if the planet dies, but timeline wise most people aren’t going be able to look that far ahead of their kid is crying out of hunger right now or they’re stranded unable to get transport to work, today. They want today solved, not next year.

It’s like saying, why didn’t you get to the hospital to perform that life saving surgery when the surgeon is busy watching her shoes burn and trying to figure out how to get them off before they become one with her skin. Both things need doing, but what is closest to an individual is what that individual will be focused on. Burning footwear > surgery located elsewhere, never mind how important both things are.

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  • [–] 7 points 5 hours ago (3 children)

    The best thing to do for the climate is getting rid of the 1 percent richest

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  • [–] 1 point 4 hours ago

    I agree and another way of saying this is that we are not evolved enough to organize on such a large scale, we really are just great apes with a limited 100-150 members of our in group. Once we are made to care and understand more we simply fail to rise up to the occasion. Another way of putting it, we cannot act as individuals to make world wide change, we need organized government with a long term goal, almost like religion without the death cult stuff. So if organized humanity keeps on keeping on, it will be very messy, almost as if our leaders and collective actions mirror that of a screaming child without parents, goals, and having a messy bottom.

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  • [–] 19 points 12 hours ago (2 children)

    Hit the nail right on the head. We can’t get most people to care about other groups of people right now, let alone climate change. The zone is being flooded, 24/7. It’s so bad that the average voter is desensitized to it all.

    Trump and Epstein fighting over being the first to rape a child? Sounds about right, what can be done?

    Gas hitting $10 by Christmas? Stressing me out, what are you going to do though?

    Midterms will not be free and fair? They own the whole government, basically. What can be done?

    It’s hard to blame someone for giving up hope, and looking inward. Climate change was not taken seriously by most people in the US to begin with.

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  • [–] 6 points 5 hours ago

    It’s not that I didn’t take it seriously, but it truly is a leadership issue. The scale of the climate issue is why governments exist. But because corporate (been playing Cyberpunk and want to call it corpo) started buying up government shares in the 80s the necessary legislation never happened.

    To toss another analogy your way, daylight savings is going away. The thing about that argument, sticking with one or the other because it will make winter life soooo much better, sure it will impact, but not as hard as people think. The days will still get shorter and darker in winter, that will not go away, overall, even if we stop changing the clocks.

    This election is going to be the same. (Vote, definitely.) It feels like people are reaching out hands towards ballots, while drowning, expecting a save. Things will shift, yes, but I doubt it will be dramatic. Gas prices are borked, billionaires will still exist, and AI has freely collected our data while u demoing home computing. The government coffers are pilfered and the debt is even more astronomical. It’s going to be a shit Christmas for the kids this year either way. Still vote, it’s about the only handhold we have right now.

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  • [–] 7 points 13 hours ago (12 children)

    Half the comments are saying this but the vast majority of Dem voters and a simple majority of US adults want more to be done about climate change. People are very much able to care about multiple things at once.

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  • [–] 4 points 5 hours ago

    The challenge is that for it to be a good campaign issue, it has to be a big priority with minimal exploitable downside. While people might abstractly want to address climate change, they care more about their economic well being. So taking time away from talking about economy is taking time away from the more impactful messaging. Also, gives opportunity for the opposition to assert the obsession with climate change will hurt their economic outcome. The good answers address all at once with nuance, but nuance sadly does not work well in a campaign.

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  • [–] 3 points 5 hours ago (1 child)

    I’m not sure what type of person answers questions that come via random, not really identified text spam, but I don’t think they’re representative of the middle of the bell curve populace. Middle of the bell curve, my money is on “delete and report spam”, or, sadly, “STOP”, letting the spammers know it’s working so they get more.

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  • [–] 11 points 10 hours ago (8 children)

    But right now, wanting to take care of the climate is taking a back seat to not wanting to live in a fascist dictatorship ran by geriatric toddlers who can’t even string a coherent sentence together unless it’s about some kid they want to fuck.

    The good news is that the best thing we can do in the United States is get rid of the giant pile of rancid shit.

    It’s not hyperbole to say everything that is bad right now is his (and his cronies) fault, including the present affordability crisis.

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  • [–] 3 points 5 hours ago

    Geriatric, misogynistic toddlers who also want to re-establish some of their lost ownership over women. This pesky liberation shit needs to be dialed back. 50 years is long enough, daddy’s home now.

    (It creeps me out and repulses me typing that post comma part but that’s their language).

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  • [–] 0 points 10 hours ago (6 children)

    But right now, wanting to take care of the climate is taking a back seat to not wanting to live in a fascist dictatorship ran by geriatric toddlers who can’t even string a coherent sentence together unless it’s about some kid they want to fuck.

    The big question here is: Why not both? Clearly this is an issue that voters care about (as of May 26th), so it's not going to lose votes. This explanation simply doesn't work to explain establishment Democratic candidates' behavior, and frankly I don't understand the urge to look for alternative explanations when we already know they're corporate shills that don't care about the climate.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 hours ago

    Because at this point climate change can easily be twisted into more BS culture war propaganda used by far right fascist. Like all we want is affordable gas so we can drive 40 mins one way to a dead end job but the damn tree huggers be blocking my commune in the middle of a heat wave during rush hour. See?

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  • [–] 9 points 10 hours ago (4 children)

    From a campaign perspective you want a clear, concise message.

    There are a gazillion things that need taking care of, but the reality is if you spend time talking about all of them, the message won’t get out and elections will be lost.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 hours ago

    This is very true. Slogans work. “We’re not going back” was stellar, but the dunbasses running Kamala dropped it.

    A phrase as simple that resonates not just with Lemmy, but the middle of the bell curve people, is needed.

    Republicans are really good at it. Dems, never. Too many wet cats swiping at each other and arguing about what’s most important.

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  • [–] -3 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

    From a campaign perspective you want a clear, concise message.

    A main message sure, but the idea that an electoral campaign can or should only have one message doesn't match up with reality and is—I'm sorry—frankly bullshit. Pick a Senator or Representative at random and see what their platform was when they got elected. Candidates right now are running on parallel messages of affordability and protecting democracy, and Abdul El Sayed—one of the most successful progressives currently campaigning—also has healthcare as a core part of his platform and I'm pretty sure I remember him talking about foreign wars. Before you respond next you should take a moment to consider why you just said something that's so obviously untrue.

    Edit: Besides, somebody should at least be talking about all the wildfires.

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  • [–] 3 points 5 hours ago

    Sure, in interviews they can parse shit out, and that is a good thing, but what is the sell phrase? Whitmer won in Michigan based on “Fix the Damn Roads!” Having driven on them, I can tell you, it’s a byline that could reach every person in that state.

    People are busy. They’re not reading what you read. No one is reading what you read, or what I read, that’s how fractured information dissemination is right now. We all consume different news, if any at all.

    When the working class majority walk to their voting center, dragging their asses there after having worked 11 shifts in the 7 days prior, what’s the single line that’s going to make them want to spend the energy and not just collapse on their bed?

    If you spew multiple things at them they’ll probably just go to bed.

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  • [–] 2 points 10 hours ago

    Before you respond next you should take a moment to consider why you just said something that's so obviously untrue.

    You should take a moment to understand American voters. And also to not be an ass.

    I’m sorry that you don’t under stand that US politics is decided on a small handful of issues. Recognizing that isn’t “stupid” it’s simply paying the fuck attention.

    If you really want to know where a candidate stands on climate change, I’m sure you can find that, or just ask their campaign and get an answer. But they’re only going to hammering on a few issues because that’s how the America voter just is.

    Re-read what you just wrote about El-Sayed.

    Candidates right now are running on parallel messages of affordability and protecting democracy, and Abdul El Sayed [snip] also has healthcare as a core part of his platform and I'm pretty sure I remember him talking about foreign wars.

    That’s two things.

    1. protecting democracy
    2. affordability

    His messaging in detail about what those two things means and what he’s gonna do about it include things like Medicare for all, and ending costly foreign wars and removing corruption. Personally, it’s actually only one thing. Because right now Trump’s and the rest of the admin’s rampant corruption is the primary cause of affordability.

    You’re acting like they have to message on every topic. And no single campaign (especially national campaigns, but state wide campaigns are bad enough,) can cover every single topic you might be interested in; and right now these things are what Americans are into so that’s what they’re driving home.

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