So as to start by saying nice things, I think this new ad from the We campaign is a vast improvement over the sitting-on-a-couch, lending-credibility-to-scumbags ads they ran earlier this year:

That said, I got an email from the campaign on Friday that about made my head explode. Here’s a bit:

Help Grist raise $25,000 by September 30 to further advance our climate reporting

Last week, the U.S. Congress left Washington without addressing the energy crisis. They didn’t deal with gas prices. They didn’t move on solutions to climate change. What’s worse, their inability to renew the clean energy tax credits means that government incentive programs to support the solar and wind industries will expire at the end of this year. Jobs will be lost as a result of their inaction.

You’ll note that this explicitly reinforces two current right-wing narratives. First, that Congress should skip its vacation and stay in session to "deal with" gas prices. And second, that "Congress" — as opposed to, say, Republicans — is responsible for failing to pass the renewable tax credits. Did We not notice that Democrats tried to pass the tax credits about a dozen f*cking times?

Grist thanks its sponsors. Become one.

I was going to write a long rant about this — about Gore’s millions being put in service behind such strategic dumbassery — but I see that Matt Stoller already has. What he said.

Doesn’t anybody know how to play this game?