Oh, Joe. You might be the current front-runner, but the Democrat party caucus goers no longer want a centrist. As a result, Joe Biden is about to learn a hard lesson in regard to the left’s pet issue of climate change.

It seems that Biden is neither stupid nor crazy, and realizes that the pipe dream of a “Green New Deal” is pretty much impossible between its pricetag and no more hamburgers. So, as Reuters reports, Biden is trying to find a “middle ground” – one that will give him climate change cred but not be certifiably insane.

Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden is crafting a climate change policy he hopes will appeal to both environmentalists and the blue-collar voters who elected Donald Trump, according to two sources, carving out a middle ground approach that will likely face heavy resistance from green activists.”

The backbone of the policy will likely include re-joining the United States with the Paris Climate Agreement and preserving U.S. regulations on emissions and vehicle fuel efficiency that Trump has sought to undo, according to one of the sources, Heather Zichal, who is part of a team advising Biden on climate change. She previously advised President Barack Obama.”

The second source, a former energy department official also advising Biden’s campaign who asked not to be named, said the policy could also be supportive of nuclear energy and fossil fuel options like natural gas and carbon capture technology, which limit emissions from coal plants and other industrial facilities.”

A spokesman for Biden’s campaign, TJ Ducklo, declined to comment on Biden’s emerging climate policy or his advisors, but said Biden takes climate change seriously. “Joe Biden has called climate change an ‘existential threat,’ and as Vice President was instrumental in orchestrating the Paris Climate Accord,” Ducklo said in an emailed statement.”

The approach, which has not been previously reported, will set Biden apart from many of his Democratic rivals for the White House who have embraced much tougher climate agendas, like the Green New Deal calling for an end to U.S. fossil fuels use within ten years. That could make Biden a target of environmental groups and youth activists ahead of next year’s primary elections.”

It’s actually quite prudent of Biden to not go full-AOC-crazy. The problem is that he is running in a crowded primary field, not in the general election. And he’s no longer vice-president, who can just spout off platitudes and get applauded for it.

So straddling this particular fence only means that both sides are going to throw things at you for your trouble.

There's no "middle ground" for the family who's forced to leave the only home they've ever known due to record flooding.

There's no "middle ground" between stability and collapse of the polar ice caps.

There's no "middle ground" between survival and extinction. https://t.co/YehNrXwBZo

— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) May 10, 2019

The left is unhappy.

look if we just let half the cities in the world flood we'll be ahead of the game https://t.co/yuaQRzzswG

— Oliver Willis (@owillis) May 10, 2019

Jay Inslee, the currently absent governor of Washington state and single-note Democrat candidate, is upset.

Climate change is an urgent crisis. 'Middle-ground' approaches and half measures won't cut it. We need a large-scale national mobilization to defeat climate change and grow millions of jobs in a clean energy economy.

— Jay Inslee (@JayInslee) May 10, 2019

Biden doesn’t care what Inslee says – the idiot is currently polling at less than 1%, and he is only in this race for his own vanity. But Biden is about to learn just how crazy these far-left caucus voters are when it comes to how they see the climate. And if Biden is seriously going to include nuclear power options in his policy, then we need to stock up on popcorn, because the heads of the far-left will be exploding.

Best of luck staking out that middle ground, there, Joe.

Featured image: Joe Biden, official White House portrait taken January 10, 2013, public domain