But as the bill heads to the House of Representatives Friday, former GOP lawmakers and Republican allied groups warn the party risks over-reaching and alienating key voting groups such as young people and suburban voters who want climate action in the face of worsening wildfires, droughts and flooding. Such alienation could complicate Republican efforts to retake one or both houses of Congress, they say.
“From a messaging perspective this is a problem for Republicans,” said Quill Robinson, vice president of government affairs at American Conservation Coalition, a youth conservative environmental group. “If they are criticizing this as the Green New Deal, that puts them in a pretty difficult position because process issues and qualms about some substance won’t get through to young people. A lot of them will see this as Republicans opposing climate legislation.”
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