Article snippet: WASHINGTON — The Senate will vote on the Green New Deal, a moonshot plan by Democrats to combat climate change, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday, announcing a move designed to force Senate Democrats — including a cast of presidential candidates — into a political bind. The plan, initially championed by freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, calls for a New Deal-style mobilization to shift the US economy away from fossil fuels such as oil and coal and replace them with renewable sources such as wind and solar power. Republicans have mocked it a progressive pipedream that would drive the economy off a cliff and lead to a huge tax increase, calling it evidence of the creep of ‘‘socialism’’ in the party. The upcoming vote — which has not yet been scheduled — will ‘‘give everybody an opportunity to go on record,’’ McConnell said. The vote could be a moment of truth for several Democratic presidential candidates. The document is one of the first high-profile attempts at policymaking from the newly empowered liberal wing of the party. It drew swift praise from several 2020 contenders angling for support from the party’s base. The Senate vote will test how far left those candidates are willing to go, risking leaving moderate voters behind. Republicans see it — and its rocky rollout promoting elements of the proposal later rescinded — as a political opening. President Donald Trump slammed the Green New Deal at a rally Monday in El Paso, Texas, saying i... Link to the full article to read more