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AOC, Continued: An Appreciation

It is not for me to decide which parts of the Green New Deal won’t work, or would be disastrous to implement—or the reverse, mind you—but one extremely savvy thing about how it was named communicates something important about the importance of climate change.

The New Deal was a concerted effort across all sectors of society to soften the blow of the Great Depression. Aside from ideologues, academics, and cranks,—but I repeat myself—most Americans appreciated the effort. You’ll note of course that FDR remains regarded as one of America’s greatest presidents.

Here’s what AOC is trying to say, at its most basic: This crisis is so grave that it’ll take a coordinated effort from everyone in every sector of society to get us through it. If nothing else, she communicated her intent and judgment about the gravity of the situation in just 3 words. That's why she'll be a player on this stage for a long time.

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