Monday’s rally in D.C. gave Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez and the Sunrise Movement a platform to promote the Green New Deal.

“I’ll be damned,” Ocasio-Cortez said at the Green New Deal rally, “if the same politicians who refused to act (in past decades) are going to try to come back today and say we need a middle of the road approach to save our lives.”

While Green New Deal reporting indicates the environmental left favors the Green New Deal, recent polling shows the concept is popular among a large portion of United States citizens, not just a politically active subset. The Sunrise Movement posted the following on Twitter.

The fossil fuel CEOs “lie and lie and lie and spend hundreds of millions of dollars to buy out politicians who also tell their lies. This is a corrupt system.” We’re taking on our political system with justice at the forefront with @SenSanders. #Road2GND pic.twitter.com/e1Ut5Ym6Se

— Sunrise Movement ? (@sunrisemvmt) May 14, 2019

The environmental organization published the following tweet to promote Monday’s final destination for the #Road2GND deal.

??TONIGHT AT 7PM EST tune in to the livestream of our final tour stop in Washington DC ??????

Sign up at https://t.co/HYreUCkyqZ pic.twitter.com/HRwyheQgCY

— Sunrise Movement ? (@sunrisemvmt) May 13, 2019

The Sunrise Movement

“We’re building an army of young people to make climate change an urgent priority across America, end the corrupting influence of fossil fuel executives on our politics and elect leaders who stand up for the health and wellbeing of all people,” reads the organization’s website. The website also recounts the organization’s viral sit-in at Congress that took place shortly after the 2018 mid-terms on November 13, 2018.

“A week following the 2018 midterm elections, during which we helped elect the youngest, most diverse Congress this country has ever seen, 250 young people descended on our country’s capital to demand a Green New Deal instead of settling for Pelosi’s [Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.] lackluster research committee. We were joined by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest congresswoman ever elected, who came with a more robust proposal for a select committee on climate change, including calling for a Green New Deal with a just transition to 100% renewable energy in the U.S. Her support proved that young people everywhere understand the severity of climate change, and that we won’t settle for the same all-talk, no-action plans anymore. The action put the Green New Deal in the spotlight of the mainstream media.”

The Sunrise Movement has been bold in its efforts to bring the need for immediate climate action and has been active in its support of the Green New Deal.

Bernie Sanders and AOC on Climate Change

In December of last year, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) appeared together at the “Solving Our Climate Crisis” town-hall hosted by Sanders and streamed by millions. Sanders has long been a proponent of solving the catastrophic disasters caused by climate change.

“There is no ‘middle ground’ when it comes to climate policy,” Sanders tweeted recently in response to reports of Vice President Joe Biden possibly seeking middle ground on climate change. “If we don’t commit to fully transforming our energy system away from fossil fuels, we will doom future generations. Fighting climate change must be our priority, whether fossil fuel billionaires like it or not,” the message continued.

In March of this year, Ocasio-Cortez gave an impassioned speech in the House of Representatives regarding the Green New Deal resolution and public critiques from Republicans in Congress.

In February Ocasio-Cortez introduced H.Res.109 – Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New Deal. While a resolution does not hold the weight of law; like a bill the resolution outlined the goals of future Green New Deal legislation. A brief summary of several goals of the bill follows.

• Creation of a Green New Deal with the goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions
• Establishing millions of high-wage jobs and ensuring economic security for all
• investing in infrastructure and industry
• Securing clean air and water, climate and community resiliency, healthy food, access to nature and a sustainable environment for all
• Promoting justice and equality