Given the magnitude of the stakes involved, the state of public opinion, and the absurdity of the GOP’s position, climate change should have been a layup for the Democrats during the campaign. Instead, Biden went into a defensive crouch every time the issue came up during the debates. Most of the discussion was about how we’re not banning fracking and adopting the GND rather than about rising sea level, hurricanes, and wildfires. In fact, Biden’s comment about a transition away from fossil fuels was treated as a gaffe rather than the bland statement of common sense that it actually was.
In Biden’s case, you can sort of excuse this by reference to his correct belief that the election could come down to a handful of frackers in Pennsylvania. Candidates in down ballot races, however, have no similar excuse.
In this case, the left is right: the Democrats need to be far bolder and more emphatic in their presentation. If the planet is truly in danger–and it is–it isn’t enough to say so and then talk about all of the things you’re not doing to save it; you need to lay out a clear plan to actually do something, and fast.