Birdies – do you think we ought to add Rev Warnock to our Senate Progressive Candidates list?

I think he’s got potential. I noticed that Breitbart and some of the RWNJ rags are trying to frame Warnock as someone who can’t be a moral authority from a church and support the legality of Roe v Wade. Warnock was endorsed by Planned Parenthood last May, but I guess no one took his candidacy very seriously then. He says that reproductive rights are very much aligned with his views of healthcare and justice.

Warnock how the Democratic Party’s support for abortion rights fits with his role as a “minister, a leader of the church, (and) a man of God.”

Warnock serves as the senior pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, where both Martin Luther King Sr. and Martin Luther King Jr. served as pastors.

The pastor responded to Bryant’s question by declaring that he believes that health care is a “human right” and “something that the richest nation in the world provides for its citizens.”

“[A]nd for me, reproductive justice is consistent with my commitment to that,” he stated. “I believe unequivocally in a woman’s right to choose.”

Warnock argued that a woman’s decision to have an abortion as “something that we don’t want government engaged in,” adding that such a decision is “between her and her doctor and her minister.”

Regarding climate change, he supports moving towards a GND. According to his campaign’s website, Warnock believes

Reverend Warnock believes that solutions to climate change are moral issues and that we can act on the consensus that already exists among Americans by ignoring Washington special interests and putting effective, common sense policies in place. Starting with rejoining the Paris Climate Accords and restoring America’s place as a leader in the fight for climate justice we can achieve this. As a Senator, he will advocate for the United States to:

• Rejoin the Paris Climate Accords and build upon the international commitment to fighting climate change;
• Work to reverse the Trump Administration’s attack on the Environmental Protection Agency and standards for clean air and water;
• Prepare Georgia’s coastline for rising sea-levels with investments in green infrastructure, structural reinforcement and climate science;
• Push for investment in resources, infrastructure, and education in communities of color to benefit in energy cost savings;
• Advocate for marginalized people to receive training and education to participate in the green new economy and jobs;
• Set goals for carbon reduction and robust climate standards for newly manufactured cars and infrastructure;
• Encourage investment in clean energy and commit to transitioning to a clean economy by 2050; and
  Hold polluters and utility companies accountable

One can tell that his work with Rev Barber and Al Gore illustrates he’s not a newcomer to environmental justice. From his website:

Reverend Warnock has focused on the work of environmental justice throughout his time at Ebenezer Baptist Church, helping organize and lead a public interfaith mass meeting on climate change with the Reverend William Barber II and Vice President Al Gore. He is proud to have the endorsement of the League of Conservation Voters and is committed to fighting climate change and environmental racism in the U.S. Senate.

His emphasis on climate justice is guided by his faith and his understanding that “the Earth is the Lord’s.” He believes that we must be stewards of the earth our children will inherit, and that we all should have the right to clean air and water. He also understands that our harm to the planet often causes those who can least afford it to experience the most tragic consequences, often communities of color and lower income populations.

Understanding the disproportionate impacts of climate change on marginalized communities, Reverend Warnock’s view of environmental justice doesn’t just focus on addressing long term challenges, but everyday problems. That means addressing the lack of access to clean water and air in many impoverished communities and the higher share of income many Black and brown households pay in energy bills, often as a result of limited cost saving tools like alternative energy sources. He also believes in working toward a clean economy that will create jobs, reduce pollution, and produce a world that our children can inherit.

I’d like to nominate Rev Warnock to be added to our candidates list (maybe start it as a 2021 list?) and have a link added to his profile.

Thoughts? Feel free to add other things you may like or have concerns.