Kamala Harris should speak plainly about climate change—and then talk about the many things she could do as president to fix the home insurance crisis.
This article was originally published by The New Republic. Read the full piece here.
Nobody mentioned the home insurance crisis during the vice presidential debate on October 1. It was an especially striking omission because Hurricane Helene, one of the most destructive and deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history, had just wiped out entire towns in western North Carolina. As people continue to evaluate the full scope of Helene’s damage, Hurricane Milton—another storm intensified by the fossil fuel-driven climate crisis—hit Florida late Wednesday night, unleashing more climate hell in the Southeast.
To his credit, Tim Walz did condemn Trump on the debate stage for joking that climate change will “make more beachfront property to be able to invest in.” And this week, Kamala Harris denounced Trump for telling dangerous lies about immigrants and FEMA in the wake of Helene.
But Harris, Walz, and the Democratic Party’s messaging apparatus are largely missing an opportunity to connect the dots between the climate emergency and rising insurance and housing costs. Democrats should be telling a compelling story about the escalating and deeply intertwined climate, housing, and insurance crises that might resonate with voters of all stripes.
The story that team Harris should be shouting from the rooftops from now until Election Day goes something like this… Read the rest of the piece here.
The above photo by Florida Fish and Wildlife is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.