Biden speaks at the dinner. Photo: Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images
President Biden and major environmental groups Wednesday night offered a preview of how they’re going to sell his record to young climate-conscious voters.
Why it matters: The League of Conservation Voters' annual Capital Dinner was an early show of force from some of the Democratic Party’s most important outside backers — and a display of the tension Biden will have to navigate to win over progressives angry about his fossil fuel record.
Driving the news: Biden gave a 20-minute speech at the dinner, where LCV Action Fund, NRDC Action Fund, NextGen PAC and the Sierra Club all endorsed his 2024 bid.
- The rah-rah event established a slogan of sorts heading into the first post-IRA presidential election: “Last year was our best year ever,” said LCV President Gene Karpinski.
- Biden previewed that he’ll run on the Inflation Reduction Act and his administration’s regulatory and conservation efforts. He also touted his successful defense of the climate law in debt ceiling negotiations with Republicans.
- He made specific appeals to younger voters: “It’s the young people in this country, particularly, who are leading the way.”
- “There's a lot of threats our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren are going to face,” Biden said. “This [climate change] is the only true existential threat.”
The intrigue: While Biden avoided any mention of them, the Willow Project and the Mountain Valley Pipeline hung over the event.
- A handful of demonstrators gathered outside to protest his administration’s approval of the projects.
- Inside, less-confrontational attendees were well aware of the dynamic.
- “Biden can legitimately campaign on the fact that he has passed the most consequential environmental laws in a generation,” Rep. Sean Casten told Axios. “I think he also has to grapple with the fact that he has to deal with the Willow project and the Mountain Valley Pipeline.”
- LCV Action Fund’s Tiernan Sittenfeld told reporters: “We oppose those projects. We've been clear about that." But Sittenfeld added, "On balance, this administration has done so much good and made so much progress.”
That distills how LCV and some mainstream greens have come to see their movement: It’s about political power to pass climate legislation, not policy perfection.
- LCV's affiliates raise huge amounts of money, which has helped them become a driving force in Democratic politics.
- In the 2020 cycle, the LCV Victory Fund was the 12th-biggest super PAC overall in terms of independent expenditures, according to data compiled by Open Secrets.
- In 2022, it was sixth-largest — and the third-biggest liberal super PAC.
The big picture: Heavy ad spending promoting Biden’s climate record could help the president avoid a major backlash with younger, climate-focused voters.
- Recent polling also shows Democrats are roughly 10% more likely to support the president’s decisions on fossil fuel projects if they hear Biden himself made the move.
- MVP and Willow are “rounding errors” in the larger climate fight, Casten said.
- “But at some point you have to say that if climate change is really important … maybe it's more important than the filibuster,” he said. “Maybe it's more important than being nice to Joe Manchin.”
