The Too Polite Revolution: Why the Recent Campaign to Pass Comprehensive Climate Legislation in the United States Failed

Abstract

"The Too Polite Revolution" analyzes the recent failed campaign to pass federal climate change legislation during President Obama's first term. Sourced from interviews with more than 75 stakeholders from all sides of the climate debate, among them the heads of the country's largest green groups, the report traces the historic battle in the House and Senate in 2009 and 2010 and examines the decision of the country's largest environmental organizations to pursue an inside-the-Beltway strategy rather than one that mobilized Americans at the grassroots. The report was commissioned by the Rockefeller Family Fund in conjunction with the Columbia Journalism School.

Keywords: climate, carbon, cap and trade, legislation, Obama, environmental groups