Democratic Businessman Harley Rouda Pens Op-Ed @Medium.com, Titled “Protecting our Environment Should Again Be a Bipartisan Issue”
LAGUNA BEACH, CA — Continuing to spearhead a thoughtful dialogue on the issues in the race for California’s 48th Congressional District seat, today Democratic businessman Harley Rouda’s campaign unveiled the candidate’s latest opinion piece published on Medium.com, which centers on the dire need for Washington to advance a forward-thinking agenda that addresses climate change and harnesses the opportunities of investing in a clean energy economy.
Below is an excerpt from the piece:
“In his first 100 days in office, Donald Trump has set about appointing a climate change denier as his EPA chief, signing executive orders undoing vital regulations, and introducing a budget that would cut up to 40% of the EPA’s budget, decimating many vital environmental initiatives and eliminating thousands of EPA jobs. Beyond losing critical climate programs, the enormous cuts to the EPA would also eradicate protections for some of our basic, everyday needs.
Among them include eliminating funds for hazardous site cleanup and the Public Water System Supervision Grant Program, which endangers our drinking water and makes situations like Flint even more likely. “These radical views on the environment aren’t just held by this president, but also shared by many of his climate change-denying allies in Congress, like the 48th’s Dana Rohrabacher. Although they lack the support of the American public, there remains a very vocal contingent of Congressmembers that denies climate change and emphatically rejects the need to protect our environment.
“This was evident at a recent House Science Committee hearing, where Dana charged nationally renowned climate scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with fabricating their data. Instead of listening to the experts on the panel and the 97% of the world’s climate scientists who agree that climate change is happening and human activity is accelerating these changes, Dana attempted to politicize the data and pompously dismiss mainstream science.
While Dana Rohrabacher and other politicians continue to “debate” the widespread consensus around climate change, his constituents are seeing these destructive changes firsthand, from drought to extreme heat.
“I’m very happy to call Orange County my home, one of the most remarkable places to live in the world. As a businessman, I know first hand that protecting the environment and incentivizing economic growth are not mutually exclusive goals, but it is in fact good business… “… Our nation is at a crossroads: do we continue to prop up old fossil fuel industries through government subsidies, or do we embrace the economic opportunities of clean energy? The future of our communities is literally at stake, and in Congress I will help lead the charge against climate change and work to make Orange County the world’s leader in clean-tech.”
Just last week Rouda rolled out his blue-chip team of campaign pros, including:
- Jacobson & Zilber Strategies, Lead Strategists and Media Consultants
- Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (FM3), Opinion Research and Polling Team
- Burnside & Associates, Field Strategists and Community Outreach Consultants
- Mandate Media, Digital Strategists and Consultants
- Tracy Austin, Fundraising Consultant
- Katharine Abrahamson, Call Time Manager
- Anita Narayana, Director of Communications
Today’s announcement comes on the heels of several recent campaign updates, all of which reflect Rouda’s increasing momentum, including:
- Scoring over 50 grassroots endorsements, along with the backing of regional Democratic Party heavyweights like past Orange County Democratic Party Chair Frank Barbaro and former California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, among others.
- Releasing his first video ad, titled, Clean House, which garnered national attention in the Washington Post.
- Raising over $200,000 before the March 31, 2017 deadline, as reported by POLITICO and coming in neck-and-neck with incumbent Rohrabacher in Q1, as reported by the Orange County Register.
- Raising the campaign’s first $100,000 in only 12 days since entering the CA-48 contest, as reported by Roll Call.
- Unveiling his initial agenda items for what he plans to address in Washington.
- Publishing an Op-Ed titled, “Time to finally ensure that healthcare coverage is a right for every American” on Medium.com.
- Publishing an Op-Ed titled, “As Rohrabacher fights to revoke women’s healthcare, it’s time we fight to revoke his seat”
- Directly challenging incumbent Congressman Dana Rohrabacher to a series of five debates
To view Rouda’s ad, “Clean House,” please click on the screen shot below: