'Nobody really knows what the Green New Deal is. It's basically a slogan'

With Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell threatening to bring the Green New Deal up for a vote, you'd think a Democrat running on the issue of climate change would be ecstatic.

But New York Times reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg told KUOW’s Angela King that it’s not that easy for Democrats seeking re-election – or, like Washington Jay Inslee, the presidency.

Sheryl Gay Stolberg: Mitch McConnell feels that if he can put all of these Democrats on record as either supporting or opposing the Green New Deal, then that will create problems for Democrats down the road.

If Democrats vote no, it could anger the progressive base which is very excited about the Green New Deal. And if they vote yes, Republicans will say, “Look it's just a bunch of socialists. They want to nationalize the economy and spend $93 trillion and give jobs to people who are unwilling to work.”

Angela King: There seems to be a battle to define the Green New Deal. What would you say is winning?

Stolberg: Well I think you're correct when you say there's a battle. Pollsters tell me that right now. Nobody really knows frankly what the Green New Deal is. It's basically a slogan. So whoever defines the Green New Deal first is going to set the table for what voters think. So I think it's too early to tell frankly how this is going to play out.

King: Any idea if the Democrats can really get their party on board with this issue? Even Al Gore admitted this would be a heavy lift politically.

Stolberg: Democrats are going to try.

Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, is pushing to make climate change a significant issue for Democrats in 2020. He's already talking about it daily in speeches on the Senate floor. He wants to call for a select committee on climate change in the Senate, something that Mitch McConnell is never going to let happen. And he's also talking about drafting legislation that Democrats could run on and pass in 2021.

Should they win the White House and the Senate, that legislation will not look like the Green New Deal. We don't know what it will look like.

King: How is this going to get anywhere?

Stolberg: The tack is to say that this is an environmental issue, a social justice issue and also a jobs issue. Pollsters told me that if you frame the green agenda, climate change, in terms of green energy, that connotes jobs, and even Trump voters are onboard with that. So I think we'll see that three-pronged attack, and maybe it won't pass in 2021, and maybe it won't pass in 2023, but over time maybe they can change the way people think about this issue and get legislation across the finish line.