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MSNBC's Katy Tur presses Sen. Hirono after no Dem votes for Green New Deal: 'You're trying to have it both ways'
MSNBC's Katy Tur interviews Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) on March 26, 2019. (Image source: MSNBC video screenshot)

MSNBC's Katy Tur presses Sen. Hirono after no Dem votes for Green New Deal: 'You're trying to have it both ways'

Why not vote yes if you support it?

After no Democratic senator voted in favor of the Green New Deal on Tuesday, the party line was to blame Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for trying to divide the party with a "show vote."

While that may be true to some extent, a show vote is still a vote, and it's contradictory to say you support a bill while also refusing to vote "yes" on it. Particularly if you've been saying that bill is critical to the future of mankind.

MSNBC's Katy Tur called out Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) on this contradiction during an interview Tuesday, trying to get the senator to explain what good it does to simply vote "present."

"Why did so many Democrats vote 'present' on it instead of voting 'yes' for it?" Tur asked Hirono.

"Because this was just a sham so-called debate by Mitch McConnell," Hirono responded. "He wanted to divide the Democrats. The bottom line is that the Green New Deal is an aspirational document that says we recognize the science behind climate change, unlike Trump and the Republicans and all the climate deniers who want to stick their heads in the sand and make believe that climate change is not happening."

Hirono pivoted to talk about a disaster relief effort that she said was directly tied to climate change causing disasters more frequently and with more severity.

Tur, not content to let Hirono off the hook, pointed out the inconsistency between a "present" vote on the Green New Deal and a sense of grave urgency to stop climate change.

"But isn't that an argument that you just made to vote 'yes' for it?" Tur pushed back. "I mean, McConnell may be trying to make it a show vote, but if — you signed off on it, you're one of the co-authors — if you believe that this is something, even if it's aspirational, that it needs to get done, why not take a stand and vote 'yes' for it, and 'here's what Democrats stand for, we don't care that it's a show vote from leader McConnell.

"It seems like you're trying to have it both ways. Not be hung by it politically, but also not say that you don't support it," Tur continued.

To recap: Democrats author the Green New Deal. Democrats talk about how important the Green New Deal is. Democrats then get mad that the Green New Deal will be voted on, and refuse to vote for it themselves. In fact, some of them actually vote against it. And somehow, this is all McConnell's fault.

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