Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and others have reintroduced the Green New Deal (GND) during what they deem "Green New Deal week."

Originally introduced in 2019, the GND went down in a ball of flames, reminiscent of the 1937 Hindenburg disaster.

However, that has not stopped Ocasio-Cortez and friends from resurrecting the GND amid much media fanfare.

According to Ocasio-Cortez, "[f]or so long, our movement towards a sustainable future has been divided with really just this false notion that we have to choose between our planet and our economy.  We decided to come together in sweeping legislation that not only rejects that notion, but creates a plan for 20 million union jobs in the United States of America to rebuild our infrastructure."

Markey added, "For the past two years, it has been proven that the Green New Deal isn't just a resolution; it is a revolution."

Actually, the GND is neither of those things.  It is an abomination.

If passed into law, the Green New Deal would not resolve any of the issues its authors claim it will.  Rather, it would create a whole new set of problems.  Far from a revolution, the GND is more accurately described as a socialistic counterinsurgency.

So what would the new and improved GND do?

"What we're going to do is we're going to transition to a 100 percent carbon-free economy that is more unionized, more just, more dignified, and guarantees more health care and housing than we ever have before.  That's our goal," said Ocasio-Cortez.

At this point, you may be wondering what more unionization, guaranteed health care, and guaranteed housing has to do with the environment or global warming.  The answer is simple: nothing.

And that is the dirty little secret behind the Green New Deal.  It is not about addressing so-called climate change.  It is actually about upending the American economy and reengineering American society to be more in line with Ocasio-Cortez's socialist vision for America.

In fact, it isn't even a guarded secret.  The architects of the Green New Deal have said so themselves.

In 2019, when the GND was originally introduced, Ocasio-Cortez's then–chief of staff, Saikat Chakrabarti, said, "The interesting thing about the Green New Deal is it wasn't originally a climate thing at all.  'Do you guys think of it as a climate thing?'  Because we really think of it as a how-do-you-change-the-entire-economy thing."

Chakrabarti's off-the-cuff remark is telling because it removes the lid on the true intent of those pushing the Green New Deal.  And when one reads between the lines, one can find similar sentiments from Ocasio-Cortez and others.

Such as this quip from Ocasio-Cortez: "It is going to be an all hands on deck approach, and we refuse to leave any community behind in the process."

And this anecdote from Markey: "We made bold climate action not only a voting issue, we made it a winning, political issue.  And now, all of these leaders are working to pass bold, visionary legislation.  Climate justice is finally taking over the halls of the United States Congress."

Those statements sure sound like socialistic dogma, not environmental policy.

And where do the American people stand on all this?

According to a March 2021 Gallup poll, the vast majority of Americans rank "Environment/Pollution/Climate change" near the very bottom of the problems America faces.

On the other hand, the overwhelming majority of Americans think the "Economy in general," "Coronavirus/Diseases," and "The government/Poor leadership" are by far the most pressing problems.

In other words, Ocasio-Cortez and her troupe of socialists pushing the GND are touting a $93-trillion bill that would wreck the economy, does nothing to address the pandemic, and would likely increase Americans' skepticism toward the government.

Call me a cynic, but that doesn't sound like a winning proposition for most Americans.

No wonder the first iteration of the GND was a complete failure.  The American people realize that the GND is simply socialist snake oil.

Chris Talgo (ctalgo@heartland.org) is senior editor at The Heartland Institute.

Image: Senate Democrats.

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