Republicans and Democrats Agree: Campaigning in Extreme Heat Is Brutal

https://apnews.com/article/harris-fracking-energy-climate-trump-election-debate-1b86dfb4297facd0b89c487724a9e5b0

Liam Donovan, a Republican strategist, said it was notable that at a debate in energy-rich Pennsylvania, Harris chose to “brag about something that President Biden has barely acknowledged — that domestic fossil fuel production under the Biden administration is at an all-time high.″ Crude production averaged 12.9 million barrels a day last year, eclipsing a previous record set in 2019 under Trump, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The statement was “another sign of Harris’ sprint to the middle″ on energy policy and other issues, said Donovan, who works with energy industry clients at the Bracewell law and lobbying firm.

Harris went one step further, rebranding the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act — the administration’s signature climate law — as a boon to fracking and other drilling, thanks to lease-sale requirements inserted into the bill by independent West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a key swing vote in the Senate and a strong supporter of the fossil fuel industry.

Harris’s comments disappointed some in the environmental community.

“Harris missed a critical opportunity to lay out a stark contrast with Trump and show young voters that she will stand up to Big Oil and stop the climate crisis,’' said Stevie O’Hanlon, a spokesperson for the Sunrise Movement, one of the groups behind the Green New Deal.

“Harris spent more time promoting fracking than laying out a bold vision for a clean energy future,’' O’Hanlon said. “Young voters want more from Harris’’ on climate change, she added. “We want to see a real plan that meets the scale and urgency of this crisis.’'

Her group is working to turn out young voters, “but we hear people asking every day, ‘What are Democrats going to do for us?’” O’Hanlon said. “To win, Harris needs to show young people she will fight for us.”

Other environmental groups were less critical, citing the looming threat to climate action posed by Trump, who rolled back more than 100 environmental protections during his term as president.

“There is only one presidential candidate who is a champion for climate action and that is Kamala Harris,’' said Alex Glass, speaking for Climate Power, a liberal advocacy group. Harris “laid out a clear vision to invest in clean energy jobs and lower costs for working families,’' Glass said.

By comparison, she said, Trump “will do the bidding of his Big Oil donors.’'