Tom Watson

March 5, 2026 The Honorable Kathy Hochul Governor of New York State NY State Capitol Building Albany, NY 12224 Re: Upholding New York’s Leadership in the Fight Against Climate Change Dear Governor Hochul, At a time when the Trump Administration is doing everything possible to tear down decades of progress in the fight against climate change, it is incumbent on states like New York to reject this new wave of climate denial and put forward bold policies that will save New Yorkers money, reduce pollution, and protect a livable climate for our constituents and our children and grandchildren. That is why we, the undersigned senators, categorically oppose any effort to rollback New York’s nation-leading climate law, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, and urge you to stand strong in the face of misinformation that seeks to blame the CLCPA for the energy affordability crisis that fossil fuels have created. Climate change remains one of the greatest threats that our constituents - and societies across the globe - have ever faced. New Yorkers are already living through extreme weather events that run the gamut from searing heat waves to Arctic cold snaps, and they are already paying the price1, with their dollars, their homes, their health, and even their lives. The climate crisis is driving up the cost of home insurance, of health care, of groceries, and of countless other daily necessities2, and every delay in taking action will only drive those costs even higher. Confronting this crisis is a generational task and a legacy issue for every elected official, and it is inseparable from any credible effort to address the high cost of living. At the same time, there is no question that we must address energy affordability, capacity, and reliability. But while President Trump and the fossil fuel industry want New Yorkers to believe that we must choose between those needs and climate action, nothing could be further from the truth. The recent three-page memo from…

not include any price guardrails, with a completely unrealistic carbon price34. As such, the analysis simply cannot be treated as a serious contribution to the debate. In reality, rolling back the CLCPA will not save our constituents money because it is not the cause of increasing costs. It is the fossil fuel status quo56 that has created the affordability crisis New Yorkers are now suffering from, and it is bold action to deliver renewable energy and energy efficiency that will give them relief, saving money for individuals in the immediate-term and for all utility customers in the medium- and long-term7. When it comes to energy generation capacity, renewables can be deployed cheaply and quickly to meet our needs8. And over the last year, through heat waves and polar vortexes9, renewables have proven that they add much-needed reliability10 to the grid, reducing price spikes in the process, like those driven by wars in Europe and the Middle East. Between us we carry significant legislation on a broad number of policies large and small that will reduce New Yorkers’ costs and move us toward our science-based climate targets. We stand ready to work with you and your administration to implement comprehensive climate policies that truly meet the needs of this moment – but we cannot support abandoning our commitment to climate progress. Sincerely, Liz Krueger Pete Harckham Kevin S. Parker 28th Senate District 40th Senate District 21st Senate District Chair, Finance Chair, Environmental Conservation Chair, Energy & Telecoms Jamaal T. Bailey April N.M. Baskin Erik Bottcher 26th Senate District 63rd Senate District 47th Senate District

Jabari Brisport Samra Brouk Cordell Cleare 25th Senate District 55th Senate District 30th Senate District Leroy Comrie Nathalia Fernandez Kristen Gonzalez 14th Senate District 34th Senate District 59th Senate District Andrew Gounardes Michelle Hinchey Robert Jackson 26th Senate District 41st Senate District 31st Senate District Brian Kavanagh John Liu Rachel May 27th Senate District 16th Senate District 48th Senate District Shelley B. Mayer Zellnor Myrie Roxanne J. Persaud 37th Senate District 20th Senate District 19th Senate District Jessica Ramos Gustavo Rivera Julia Salazar 13th Senate District 33rd Senate District 18th Senate District James Sanders Luis Sepulveda José M. Serrano 10th Senate District 32nd Senate District 29th Senate District Toby Ann Stavisky Lea Webb 11th Senate District 52nd Senate District

👀 New letter from 29 NYS Senators (>2/3 of the Dem caucus) to Hochul this morning:

“We categorically oppose any effort to rollback New York’s nation-leading climate law… and urge you to stand strong in the face of misinformation that seeks to blame the CLCPA for the energy affordability crisis”

👍🏻

This guy just screams that he's really into doing war crimes on a daily basis

“the states with the highest increase in renewable generation share from 2019-2024, such as Iowa, New Mexico, and South Dakota, have seen some of the largest decreases in electricity rates”

That's not an actual job. She was fired from the cabinet.

This is pretty wild - Noem had no idea she'd been fired! Kept answering questions about "my department." Then finally walked off to get the bad news.

Ha!

Trump fires Noem, a walking dumpster fire of cruelty and incompetence.

Correct!

I really do wish EV and"self driving" weren't joined at the hip these days. That's not a great humanistic development.

Noem’s husband is there. You would think she would immediately and strongly deny it if it wasn’t true. But she didn’t deny it. bsky.app/profile/acyn...

Garcia: "I want to just show this image here. This is an image of some kids, including one of Liam Ramos's classmates. These are kids that are being held at detention facilities."

Cheryl Mills ftw.

Ossoff: "The president owes Americans a real explanation. 2am posts on Truth Social just aren't good enough when you're sending Americans into combat. He was dancing at his beach club the same night he ordered air crews to launch into combat & hours before our service members endured missile salvos"

Maybe this is what Hegseth means by "lethality."

YouTube video by The Rest Is Politics: Leading "The Most Corrupt President in History": Gavin Newsom Unloads on Trump

Highly recommend this interview with Gavin Newsom by @therestpolitics.bsky.social crew. Fascinating.
youtu.be/dEb5hgdro7U?...

It's hard to love her open disdain and disgust any more than I do.

Minnesota would like a word.

They went to war with Iran (which nobody in America was asking for) so they could conjure an excuse to allow ICE to keep murdering Americans and teargassing schools here at home with impunity (which nobody in America was asking for).

This is pretty grotesque from Badenoch. But also deeply politically weird: the Iran strikes are already unpopular and will become even more so. Why lock herself into a stance voters will hate?

As a bonus: the initial strikes are clearly illegal. Joining in defence to counterstrikes isn't.

Trump? Try LBJ. Dems lost the WWC in the US after 1964 - whilst mostly retaining the actual working class (in two party system). Starmer has bigger structural issues than angry progs - he's kowtowed to Trump and refuses to throw in the Brexit towel. It's all false compromise nobody likes.

Glenn Greenwald: Every major presidential campaign is based on lies and knowingly false promises, but Trump made opposition to regime-change wars a central part of his political identity for a decade. His voters believed it. He's proven himself one of the most deceitful frauds in US history.👇 The American Conservative: Trump on the campaign trail: "We are finally putting America First. Our policy of war regime change and nation-building is being replaced by the pursuit of American interests… It is the job of our military to protect our security, not to be the policemen of the world."

Even now, Glenn Greenwald can’t bring himself to say “I believed Trump’s lies.” It’s “his voters believed it.” But it wasn’t just “his voters,” Glenn, it was you. You believed the lie. In fact, you promoted it. Incessantly.

Has anyone noticed yet that Reform is significantly underperforming their hype?

I love the hater pope

Especially against the particularly hideous attacks of Ed Koch that year. Jackson's refusal to bend the knee - and his willingness to campaign in places most candidates skipped - set up Dave Dinkins to beat Koch a year later.

When I think about Rev. Jesse Jackson, I remember covering the 1988 New York primary, won by Mike Dukakis. But Jackson was the media star and - in that era - a Black candidate refusing to yield his time or space to Dukakis or Al Gore was deeply significant.

What a presence on the screen - and such range in characters. An actor's actor.

Obama

Sign this guy up, NBC!

This glorious city of immigrants." Brandi Carlile killing it at the Garden. Pure power.

Bad Bunny's halftime show ripped for language barrier, suspected political message

lol stay mad