OPINION:
Mayor Bill de Blasio, in an appearance on “Morning Joe” on MSNBC to explain his decision to go Green New Deal in New York City and switch entirely to renewable energy within the next five years, faltered a bit when pressed on his own gas-guzzling, carbon emitting, climate-changing SUV use.
And such is the way of the radical environmentalist: Do as I say, not as I do.
It’s thee, not me.
What’s good for the goose is certainly not good for the gander — for all us peon-picking ganders of the world.
This is de Blasio, in all his hypocritical glory.
“What sort of environmentally responsible example are you setting there, taking this drive in a car as opposed to going to someplace nearby?” asked MSNBC panelist Jonathan Lemire, about de Blasio’s daily trips from Gracie Mansion to his fitness center in Brooklyn, via — voila — an SUV.
And Lemire didn’t elaborate, but let’s be clear: De Blasio is not alone.
Political elites frequently dart about city streets in SUVs, with their gaggle of tinted window black sedan security teams and party loyalists in tow. They park in no-parking zones. They idle for hours. They block traffic, cause congestion and, in some respects, present more as an intimidating mob-like presence than humble servant-of-the-people class.
And, as de Blasio was asked to explain, they rarely consider the environmental footprint they’re leaving in their CO2-emitting wake.
“This is just a part of my life,” de Blasio explained, the New York Post reported. “I come from that neighborhood in Brooklyn. That’s my home. I go there on a regular basis to stay connected to where I come from and not be in a bubble that I think for a lot of politicians is a huge problem.”
Great.
Public transportation doesn’t swing that way?
Another radical green busted for hypocrisy. As de Blasio’s big SUV drives show, with environmentalists, it’s far more frequently about image and finding fault with others — far less frequently about leading by example and doing what they demand others do.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley.
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