Clinton Clinches and Jumps Trump in Polls, as Democrats Act on Climate Change
In May Donald Trump took the lead in some national polling after becoming the presumptive Republican nominee for president. Hillary Clinton, mired in her contest with Bernie Sanders, had fallen from her perch as the long-time polling leader and faced an uncertain future.
What a difference a few weeks can make in politics.
Now Sanders is following Elizabeth Warren and Barack Obama in bestowing his blessing, which clinches the nomination for Clinton. It’s Trump who’s sliding in the polls instead. Wracked by controversies of his own creation and still stamping out intraparty fires, today he now trails Clinton on average by more than four percentage points according to RealClearPolitics.
In an election cycle dominated by Trump’s cult-of-the-personality politics, Sanders and Clinton have been determined to keep a focus on issues. Environmental policies figured prominently in the Democratic primaries and each candidate vied to show who had the best approach on issues such as clean energy and climate change.
In the end the Sanders challenge made Clinton a better candidate and gave the Democrats a better party platform. Facing a threat from the left Clinton during her campaign eventually rejected the Keystone tar sands pipeline, called for greater restrictions on fossil fuel development on public lands, and agreed to a platform that for the first time ever called for placing a price on carbon pollution.
But Clinton is no newcomer to her commitment on the environment. She was a staunch supporter of environmental causes during her years in the Senate, fought for reducing air pollution as First Lady to protect children’s health, and as Secretary of State helped lay the groundwork for international climate negotiations though her work with Brazil and China.
By continuing to embrace environmental positions popular with the American people, Clinton has positioned herself well to firm up progressive support while reaching out to independents. By contrast on climate change Trump has promised to tear up our international agreements, get the Keystone pipeline built, and cancel Obama’s cleanup of old, coal-fired power plants.
With the conventions approaching the election is now going to get even more interesting, and it’s far from over. By highlighting the difference between Trump and herself on the issue of the environment, Clinton has an opportunity to cement her lead in the polls. With negotiations on the platform with Sanders complete and his endorsement in place, it’s time for those who care about the environment to look to the general election. The stakes couldn’t be higher.
