During the 2020 VA General Assembly legislative session, Virginia Justice Democrats, along with several other groups, publicly declared that “The Emperor has no clothes!” on the biggest clean energy omnibus bill of the session — the VA Clean Economy Act (VCEA).
It was a controversial position to take to be sure — one we did not take lightly — and we drew stern criticisms from many of VA’s climate leaders and advocates. Afterall, the VCEA, despite being vague and undefined from the start, had all the hallmarks for a successful piece of legislation. It had the backing of a broad set of key stakeholders from the electric utilities (Dominion Energy & Appalachian Power), to Democratic legislators in leadership positions, to established environmental groups, to renewable energy industry groups, and eventually the Governor himself. The who’s who of what established convention dictates are those with legitimate political power and so get to be in “the room where it happens”. This is how the sausage gets made and we just all need to accept that this is the way it’s done. Fall in line.
It was incredible to watch much of the clean energy advocacy community in VA, many extremely smart and capable folks, just flock around the VCEA like moths to a flame. All the traditional power and influence of the stakeholders at the negotiating table was overwhelming and irresistible. It was not about whether the VCEA was a good piece of legislation, but that it had the “right” people who can make it happen. And then the horse trading begins.
So, when news broke May 8th that Dominion Energy is once again up to their old tricks (when are they not?) and attempting to renege on the terms in the VCEA, it came as no surprise to any of us who sounded the alarm on the VCEA during the legislative session. We saw it for what it was — a sham.
Our friends at Food & Water Watch Virginia summarizes the situation relating to the VCEA well in this piece: https://bluevirginia.us/2020/05/dominion-just-proved-that-the-virginia-clean-economy-act-wont-stop-it-from-continuing-to-push-climate-killing-fossil-fuels
The question that has been taking shape, therefore, is why traditional advocacy groups and many citizen advocates continue to approach issue advocacy in this way despite a dismal track record of legislative success. Why do we accept this structure of political power where the rules are rigged by those who hold all the cards? Is it not time we redefine what constitutes political power?
“The definition of insanity is doing something over and over and expecting a different result.” — so said a wise person
There is an unfortunate misconception amongst many well intending civic advocates, on any given issue, about how to advance their legislative agendas. Much of it is premised on certain outdated assumptions about the nature of political power — who has it, how mutable it is, how to get it, and how to create it. But isn’t it a self fulfilling prophecy? Power is given — unless at the point of a gun. How does a wealthy man or a high ranking politician command respect from others the moment they walk into a room? Our society has unspoken codes of conduct that automatically assign deference to people in such positions no matter if they merit it. Their opinions and ideas take on a lustre of infallibility because, we surmise, they must surely possess a secret special sauce to have attained the status they hold in the first place. Yes, they have certain powers given to them by their elected offices and more resources to work with, but beyond that it’s just a matter of how the rest of us perceive them.
So how should we citizen advocates, who may not possess the traditional kind of political power, increase our odds and level the playing field?
Here’s an idea.
If you are missing a leverage to achieve your goal, create the leverage.
If you are missing a tool from your toolbox to achieve your goal, make a new tool.
If you’re allowing your policy advocacy to be limited by those with traditional power coming to you and saying something like, “We’re never gonna go for that GND because it’s part of the progressive brand and we can’t let them create any beach head in this policy space because then the ruse would be up that there is no scarcity. Our whole schtick is premised on the mirage of scarcity. It’s our rubric for attaining and retaining political power. We’re going to go with this VCEA, because we can control the narrative, and y’all can take it or leave it.“, then you’re not thinking creatively enough in how to create new political power and circumvent that obstacle. You are approaching the bargaining table assuming that they — the legislators by the power of their elected positions or the corporations by the power of their wealth and influence — have the upper hand in terms of the power dynamic. It’s the traditional and limited theory of power. If you start off from that position then you’ve already given up your power to them before any negotiation has begun and from day one you’ve doomed yourself to lose. They set the rules of the game.
The “normal” mode of civic advocacy is outdated and ineffectual in a political landscape that is utterly corrupt and bought out. When legislators don’t need to court for your votes to get reelected, they don’t have to listen to you. So, just going to “talk” to them, “appeal” to them, is not going to be enough. Yes, on party line issues like guns and reproductive rights that happen to fall in with their brand as a party you’re not going to have too much of a problem. But on issues that touch on the money interests of their biggest donors, normal advocacy is not going to work. That fantasy ideal of a “politics of compromise”, “finding middle ground”, “let’s bring all the stakeholders to the table”, doesn’t exist when we have a rigged system. It is not a level playing field.
Traditional advocacy groups with some political power, by way of their name brand, large membership, and financial resources, ought to recognize that many elected officials are using them to green wash themselves. By falling in line with them these groups are giving them the cover they need to get away with fake climate actions. Such groups, including many in the new progressive grassroots, have unwittingly become enablers of the continual unsatisfactory outcome in clean energy policy. Textbook advocacy strategy promotes building long term relationships with elected officials and gaining a seat at the table. But due to the rigged nature of our political system, this strategy is as good as building a road to nowhere for the advocacy groups. Given the opportunity to build new political power with the VA Green New Deal coalition, and to bring in their knowledge and expertise to the table to help make the GND legislations stronger, they lacked faith in non-traditional people power and were easily lured back into the fold of the established power structure. Having worked in the silo of their single issue for so long, they couldn’t grasp the language of intersectional justice. Unfortunately, given the speed at which the climate crisis (plus ancillary crises) is coming at us, continuing to prop up this rigged system is going to doom us all including themselves. They have unwittingly become part of the problem.
It is interesting to note how just a small handful of progressive groups coming out to oppose the VCEA caused the kerfuffle, and ended up pushing for improvements to the VCEA, as much as it did. We are way more powerful than we give ourselves credit for and we are capable of achieving way more progress than they tell us they’re willing to give us — IF we stand strong together. The VA way, which is the continuation of the slave owning plantation class, is to divide and conquer. Those with political influence have been throwing crumbs down to us under the table, telling us that is all there is, and making us fight each other for the crumbs. All the while there is a whole buffet on the table.