Biden may have given Pennsylvania and the election to Trump in committing to 'transition from the oil industry'
by Tiana Lowe, Commentary Writer |
| October 22, 2020 11:36 PM
Trump's could not be described as (exceptionally) erratic. Yet the president, flailing under an unprecedented global pandemic and rivaled by an opponent extraordinarily less loathsome than Hillary Clinton, may have found a lifeline to bolster his final fortnight of campaigning for reelection.
Biden, who has led Trump by an unusually stable margin not just nationally but also in key swing states, closed out an otherwise well-done debate committing to combat climate change not by maximizing the fracking operations that have helped the United States reduce greenhouse gas emissions more than other nations in the Paris climate accords or by embracing GHG-neutral nuclear power. Instead, he decided to obliterate his potential odds in Pennsylvania, perhaps the single most important battleground on the map.
"Transition from the oil industry? Yes," Biden said. When asked why, he noted, "Because the oil industry pollutes, significantly."
Based on the broad polling, Biden is the clear favorite to win the election. But plenty of states that Biden has made highly competitive, such as North Carolina and Iowa, still provide Trump the benefit of popular down-ticket races. In the end, it's fully possible that 2020 comes down to the three Rust Belt states that gave Trump the White House, plus Florida and maybe Arizona. From there, and thanks to the mess that will be pandemic-fueled absentee and early-voting ballots, either candidate's fate may rest on a rounding error. For Biden to give Trump a clear path to reclaim the 20 crucial Electoral College votes granted by the Keystone State is political malpractice.
more
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/biden-may-have-given-pennsylvania-and-the-election-to-trump-in-committing-to-transition-from-the-oil-industry
