Activism tactics from climate change protesters are giving pause to even some of Capitol Hill’s biggest climate hawks.
Congressional Democrats fear more confrontational acts like disrupting charity events, shutting down major roadways and committing acts of vandalism are undercutting an issue President Biden has prioritized.
These antics make for good press, some Democrats say, but do less for spurring action.
“People feel like they’re raising media awareness by doing that. Maybe that’s true,” Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, chair emeritus of the Progressive Caucus, told The Washington Times. “But if you really want to know how to affect a lawmaker who’s been doing this for 30 years, it’s to have someone in my district — more than one person in my district — telling me that this is what they care about.”
Activists from Climate Defiance, a group known for blocking roadways and shutting down public appearances by elected leaders and Biden officials, recently caught the ire of Washington by halting the Congressional Women’s Softball Game that raises money for breast cancer prevention.
“Climate shouldn’t be in conflict with breast cancer,” Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York, a member of Congress’ far-left “Squad,” told The Times. “Now, that energy ’screw climate activists’ may be spread to 5, 10, 20, 50 people, or to a representative, who will then not support climate legislation.”
The annual game pits a team of female lawmakers against female reporters and is attended by members of Congress, staffers and reporters. Lawmakers responded to the protesters by drowning them out with an impromptu dance party featuring loud music.
One Democrat, Rep. Nanette Barragan, tried to reason with the protesters assembled in the middle of the field by noting the fundraiser was for a completely unrelated cause.
Climate Defiance declined to comment.
The group boasted on social media about storming the field and sought to make a direct connection between the fundraiser and climate change.
“The congresswomen angrily demanded we leave, noting the event is a breast cancer fundraiser. What?” the organization wrote in a series of tweets. “Our government spends $20,000,000,000 per year on fossil fuel subsidies. Fossil fuels drive one-in-five deaths. How dare they lecture us about cancer? How dare they?”
Activists also protested last year’s Congressional Baseball Game, an annual fundraiser for Washington-area charities, between Republican and Democratic male lawmakers. But demonstrators neither stormed the field nor caused a delay.
Climate Defiance took a milder approach last week when a group of activists was arrested in a House office building for civil disobedience.
Other climate protests this year from various activist groups in the U.S. included blocking traffic on major highways in Washington and New York, visiting the home of Senate Democratic leader Charles E. Schumer, and disrupting events with speakers such as Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Biden officials. International protest actions include interrupting professional sporting games, turning Rome’s historic Trevi fountain black with diluted charcoal and using paint to vandalize a billionaire Walmart heiress’ yacht, historic paintings and museum exhibits.
“It’ll take all kinds of tactics to make change at the speed and scale we need,” said Ben Goloff, a senior climate campaigner with the Center for Biological Diversity who is gearing up for a large protest through the streets of New York in September. “The suffering on the frontlines of fossil fuel pollution and from climate harm around the world is bringing people together to demand change.”
In some cases, such as blocking roadways and polluting the Trevi fountain, critics say protesters undercut their message beyond simply causing public irritation. Hourslong road jams create more vehicle pollution and the 66,000-gallon-Trevi had to be drained and cleaned.
“I don’t always agree with the strategy, or the tactic, or the place, or the time, but … I do agree with the sentiment and frustration,” said Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal of Washington, who has been arrested in the past for nonviolent protesting.
She said her red line is visiting officials’ homes, something climate activists have largely refrained from doing, save for Mr. Schumer in New York. But Ms. Jayapal argued that causing an inconvenience is sometimes the best strategy for any movement’s message.
“You get the issue into people’s consciousness. Do you create more enemies than you do supporters? People here in this country don’t like to be inconvenienced. But I’m sorry, there are a lot of people that are being inconvenienced by the climate emergency,” Ms. Jayapal said. “A lot of people don’t like these things because they’re confrontational, but sometimes you need confrontational tactics.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a New York Democrat with an activist background, is a member of the Squad and is a leading promoter of the Green New Deal. She said climate groups are trying to fine-tune their activism and that lawmakers’ opinions about tactics shouldn’t be relevant.
“Because of the level of crisis and the lack of action on the scale necessary, I think that has driven an activist community to become experimental to figure out what will move the needle,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said. “It’s really the job of an activist and the activist community to determine what their goals are. It’s certainly not up to the role of a legislator to tell activists how to protest.”
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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