Submitted by Sabrina McClain
As a young person in the 21st century, my highest priority is the environment. If we do not have a safe environment in the future, nothing else we do matters. Therefore, I will be voting for Senator Ed Markey on Primary Day, September 1st, and on election day, November 3rd. He continues to fight hard for many bills to protect the environment; he co-authored the Green New Deal alongside Representative Ocasio-Cortez; this resolution creates jobs in renewable energy, a joint solution to our economic and environmental crises, refuting the narrative that we must choose between the environment and the economy. While it has not yet been passed, its ideas have already changed the conversation.
What sort of message would we send if we voted Senator Markey out of office after he helped propose it? This is our chance to show our support, to signal to Congress how important these issues are to us. In addition to the Green New Deal, Markey has also co-authored the American Clean Energy and Security Act in 2009, a comprehensive climate change bill that was able to pass in the House of Representatives, and the 2007 fuel economy law, which raised fuel economy standards, lowering emissions. Therefore, I will be voting for Markey to send the message that the environment is one of my highest priorities. I encourage others who are worried about the future of our planet to do the same.
I am not a single-issue voter. I also support Markey because he has been a progressive leader on many other issues as well. He co-sponsored Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All bill. Currently, our Senator is co-sponsoring bills to propose reparations to the African-American community, to halt the Trump administration’s harmful immigration enforcement activities and to provide $2,000 monthly payments to those in need during the coronavirus pandemic. These are only a few examples of Senator Markey’s important contributions. I encourage everyone to go to his website to read about the concerns that matter most to them.
Markey has been effectively fighting for important issues and values for decades. He continues to be a champion of the things young people care about the most. As he himself said, “It’s the age of your ideas that are important.” That is why I would encourage my fellow young Democrats to vote for Senator Ed Markey.
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