Will Lawrence, a cofounder of the political action group Sunrise Movement, has a shot at unseating one of the most vulnerable GOPers in Cong
Jennifer Bendery at HuffPost:
WASHINGTON — Will Lawrence is projected to win Tuesday’s Democratic primary in Michigan’s 7th congressional district, continuing a streak of victories by progressives nationwide as voters signal they want new and more left-leaning party leadership.
Lawrence, a 35-year-old activist who cofounded the Sunrise Movement, a political action group focused on climate change, defeated former Navy SEAL Matt Maasdam and former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink.
Maasdam and Brink were moderate candidates who knew they risked splitting votes and clearing the path for Lawrence, but neither was willing to drop out. Their dueling campaigns split their party’s establishment, too, with Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) backing Maasdam while former Michigan Democratic Govs. Jennifer Granholm and Jim Blanchard endorsed Brink.
Lawrence coasted to victory with endorsements from prominent national progressives, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.). He campaigned on a message of affordability, putting a moratorium on new data centers, ending the war in Iran and fighting President Donald Trump’s lawlessness.
[...]
Lawrence will take on freshman Republican Rep. Tom Barrett in November. He’s got a decent chance of unseating Barrett, though establishment Democrats fear Lawrence’s left-leaning views have turned an easy ouster into a tough fight.
In MI-07, where now-Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D) previously represented, Sunrise Movement and leftist co-founder Will Lawrence beat out two more moderate/establishment-minded candidates Bridget Brink and Matt Maasdam to win the Democratic primary.
Lawrence will face off against Rep. Tom Barrett (R) in the general.
Sunrise Movement protesters stormed an oil facility, asserting that oil companies have exacerbated L.A.'s wildfire problems through greenhou
[ID: Dozens of climate protesters with Sunrise Movement LA rallied outside Phillips 66’s Los Angeles Lubricant Terminal on Thursday morning, with 16 demonstrators storming the facility’s office building.
They vowed to occupy it until their demands are met or they are arrested.]
I cannot express how frustrating it is showing up to a climate march and having to almost miss the train because one of your group members was late AND THEN seeing a ridiculous full face of make up on her. Like girl if you had time to spend on all that glitter you definitely had time to actually get to the meet up spot without being 10 minutes late. Also THIS IS A CLIMATE MARCH. WHY ARE YOU WEARING FOREVER CHEMICALS THAT ARE DESTROYING THE PLANET ON YOUR FACE. God I hate beauty culture.
Advocates believe governor is unfit for emergency planning due to policies that fuel the crisis worsening storms
Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton have drawn additional attention to what a terrible governor Ron DeSantis is.
“Florida isn’t safe with DeSantis at the helm of our state government,” said Matthew Grocholske, 20, campaign strategy lead with the Orlando, Florida, chapter of the youth-led Sunrise Movement.
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Florida environmentalists say that DeSantis’s policies to boost fossil fuels, suppress carbon-free energy and ignore global heating have fueled the climate crisis that has exacerbated such hurricanes.
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Hurricanes – including Helene – are becoming more dangerous due to the climate crisis, caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuels. DeSantis’s policies have fueled that crisis with his policies and rhetoric, climate advocates say.
“When it comes to our climate crisis, Ron DeSantis is easily the worst governor in Florida’s history,” said Delaney Reynolds, 25, a PhD student in climate resilience at the University of Miami and lead plaintiff in a 2018 youth-led climate lawsuit against the state government.
DeSantis’s opposition to climate action began early in his career. One day after taking office in 2013, the then representative voted against a measure proposed after Hurricane Sandy to guarantee people could collect on federal flood insurance claims.
During his 2018 run for governor, he pledged to protect Florida’s Everglades and waterways. But though he admitted that “human activity contributes to changes in the environment”, he also said: “I am not a global warming person.” More recently, he has gone further, slamming climate action as “woke”.
There is ample evidence that warmer ocean temperatures fuel more powerful storms, and preliminary studies show Helene’s strength was made far more likely by global heating.
Yetas Florida was battered by record-breaking rain this past June, DeSantis staunchly denied any potential link to the climate crisis.
“This clearly is not unprecedented,” he said at a news conference at the time. “I think the difference is, you compare 50 to 100 years ago to now, there’s just a lot more that’s been developed, so there’s a lot more effects that this type of event can have.”
D'oh! Of course it's "unprecedented". That's what the climate crisis is all about. Weather keeps getting more extreme.
DeSantis is doing his best to destroy the state's response to climate change.
In August, DeSantis’s administration sparked outcry for its so-called Great Outdoors Initiative, which included plans to pave over thousands of acres at nine state parks and erect 350-room hotels, golf courses and pickleball courts. In May, the governor made headlines for signing legislation scrubbing most references to climate change from state law. The policy, which took effect on 1 July, restructured the state’s energy policy to nullify goals to boost wind and solar, instead focusing on hardening energy infrastructure against “natural and manmade threats”.
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During his run for president in the 2024 Republican primary, DeSantis also promised to ramp up domestic oil and gas production and fend off electric vehicle mandates, moves that climate experts warned would have boosted greenhouse gas emissions.
His promises rhymed with his state policies. This past legislative session, DeSantis reportedly quietly helped craft a ban on wind energy infrastructure in Florida. And he also signed a far-reaching energy omnibus bill boosting the gas industry and increasing the barriers to purchasing electric vehicles.
[ ... ]
Last year, DeSantis turned down federal aid for energy efficiency, electrification and slashing carbon pollution. In 2022, he vetoed from the state budget a $5m allocation for a hurricane shelter in a north-east Florida town, and barred the state’s pension fund from making investment decisions that consider the climate crisis. The previous year, he adopted a bill banning Florida’s cities from adopting 100% clean energy goals. Such policies have exacerbated the climate crisis, which fuels hurricanes like Milton and Helene, Grocholske said.
“The catastrophic level of this hurricane is directly due to the policies our state government is passing,” said Grocholske. “It’s clear that [DeSantis’s] administration has been one of the biggest threats to climate justice our state has faced in its history.”
Ron DeSantis is actively inviting the destruction of much of his own state.
DeSanctimonious is not on the ballot this year. But there are elections for the Florida legislature.
Florida State Legislature
Look up your legislative districts. If you live in ones represented by MAGA Republicans, contact your state or county Democratic Party to find out how you can help defeat them.
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i forgot how much i MISSED PROTESTING until attending this earth day rally and protest with the sunrise movement. it was so incredible and empowering. during the rally, we discussed the way climate change disproportionately affects people in poverty while the billionaires get richer by polluting the earth. we talked about how we needed to transition to renewable and recyclable materials as soon as possible. and one of the speakers at the rally was a palestinian activist who spoke about israel’s detrimental impact on the environment. i held my sign up as high as i could for as long as i could. i usually keep it right there in my car, so it’s almost like i’m protesting everywhere i go. i just wish i had better handwriting.
we took to the streets and shut ‘em down!! we demanded better, cleaner public transportation because cars are so polluting. we demanded accountability and action from our government. and we demanded an end to the genocides in palestine and the congo. some of the people on the sidewalks cheered, some of them filmed us or took photos, some of them laughed at us, some of them got mad at us. i didn’t even care. i had the biggest smile on my face the entire time, as we chanted, “mayor lucas, you can’t hide, we can see your greedy side!” “this planet is not for profit, so biden get the hell off of it!” “from the river to the sea palestine will be free!” “if the congo is under attack, what do we do?! fight back!” then when we got to the apple store we stopped and the leader with the megaphone gave a speech about the company’s use of child slavery and their polluting practices.
i hadn’t protested in such a long time because of my mental health struggles but now that i’ve got a new medication (as in one that is actually effective) i’m finally ABLE to get engaged in the community again. it was euphoric. it was an incredible privilege to be out there today. i am so excited for all the future demonstrations i’ll be attending!! i only wish i had the guts to ask some of them to sign my petition to for kc apartments to have recycling options. but at least i’ll get another chance ☺️
