As NATO puts more focus on climate, the limousines remain

NEWS AND OPINION:

President Biden has gone to Lithuania to attend the 2023 NATO Summit, which formally gets underway Tuesday. Let us recall that NATO is an organization that counts “environment, climate change and security” as one of its main points of concern — noting in a mission statement that “environmental security issues can lead to humanitarian disasters, regional tensions and violence.”

That’s serious stuff.

All of this is not lost on the Republican National Committee, which is following Mr. Biden’s journey and making a few comments as the trip continues.

The organization noted that before arriving in Lithuania, the president stopped off in London to visit with King Charles III, plus some influential philanthropists and business leaders. A primary focus of the gathering was to address climate change.

Yes, well. Things changed, perhaps, upon arrival in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital.

“President Biden — only hours after discussing ‘accelerating climate engagement’ — departed the Vilnius airport in a motorcade spanning 30-plus vehicles,” the organization said in a tweet on Monday.

The entry was titled “Biden is a climate hypocrite” and included a video of the many vehicles racing off the runway and toward their destination in the city.

VIVEK’S LATEST

Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy has begun, perhaps, an entrepreneur’s version of political fundraising.

His campaign, Vivek 2024, has launched something called “Vivek’s Kitchen Cabinet,” described as a grassroots program meant to “democratize political fundraising,” according to the campaign.

The effort allows participants to receive an individual fundraising link and then get a 10% commission on the total amount they raise for Vivek 2024.

Got that?

“As a political outsider and first-time candidate, I was stunned to discover the degree to which the political class cashes in on the electoral process. I found out that most professional political fundraisers get a cut of the money they raise. Why should they monopolize political fundraising? They shouldn’t,” Mr. Ramaswamy said in a written statement shared with Inside the Beltway.

“That’s why I started ‘Vivek’s Kitchen Cabinet,’ so everyone can get in on this. Go-getters can make 10% of the money they raise for our campaign. This isn’t just a grassroots campaign; this is a revolution,” he said.

SAVE THE DATE

Drumroll, please. As the presidential election draws ever closer, the Republican Party has scheduled the 2024 Iowa presidential caucuses for Jan. 15. The move will ignite a flurry of activity.

“The GOP primary calendar is sticking by the historical precedent of letting Iowa vote first followed by New Hampshire, Nevada, and then South Carolina before breaking open the dam on Super Tuesday,” reports Nate Ashworth, founder and editor in chief of ElectionCentral.com, a political news site.

All-important Super Tuesday is March 5.

Why pay attention? Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are likely circling the date in red on their calendars.

“For Republican candidates, the first-in-the-nation caucus status of Iowa once again means the state will have a tremendous impact on the race, especially this year. Candidates have already been spending a lot of time in the state, crisscrossing the 99 counties and making face-to-face personal connections,” Mr. Ashworth said.

“Iowa is one state where a Trump challenger, such as DeSantis, is hoping to upend the process and the assumed dominance of the former president. Remember, Trump lost the Iowa caucus in 2016 so he’s perceived to be more vulnerable there than somewhere like New Hampshire or South Carolina,” the analyst explained.

“Trump and DeSantis begin eyeing Super Tuesday states as they prepare for 2024 long game,” summarized an Associated Press analysis of the schedule on Monday.

HELPFUL NUMBERS

“As the 2024 election year approaches, voters continue to trust the Republican Party more on the key issue of taxes,” a Rasmussen Reports poll analysis released Monday advises.

Here are the numbers:

“The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 48% of likely U.S. voters trust Republicans more to handle taxes, while 41% trust Democrats more and 12% are not sure,” the analysis said.

The survey of 1,054 likely voters was conducted from June 28 to July 2.

A MOMENT IN FLORIDA

Democrats in the Sunshine State recently offered a little entertainment, dedicated to none other than Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“In jab at DeSantis, Florida Democrats cap fundraising dinner with raucous drag show,” was the headline over an article by Anthony Man, who covers politics for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

The event was hosted Saturday by party Chair Nikki Fried at Miami’s famed Fountainbleau Hotel.

“For the finale of the Florida Democratic Party’s annual Leadership Blue conference and fundraiser in Miami Beach, Fried arranged for an appearance by drag queen Velvet LeNore, who performed several numbers along with her backup dancers,” Mr. Man wrote.

“The audience, Democratic activists and elected officials from throughout the state, erupted in applause. Drag, LeNore’s full-time profession, has become a flashpoint in the escalation of culture war issues emphasized by Republican lawmakers and DeSantis, whose administration has sought to punish liquor license holders that hold drag shows with children in attendance,” the journalist said.

POLL DU JOUR

• 62% of U.S. adults say they own at least one pet.

• 38% say they do not own a pet.

• 51% of the pet owners say they consider the animals “to be part of their family.”

• 46% say the pets are part of their family, “but not as much as a human member.”

• 26% of pet owners say there is too much emphasis in the U.S. on the well-being of pets.

• 48% say there is about the right amount of emphasis on pets’ well-being.

• 26% say there is not enough emphasis on their well-being.

SOURCE: A Pew Research Center survey of 5,073 U.S, adults conducted April 10-16 and released July 7.

• Follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.