are american conservatives against electric cars? the anti-electric car narrative in right-wing media
2024-09-25
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in 2023, the total sales of electric vehicles in the united states will exceed 1.1 million for the first time, more than four times that of 2019. however, behind the rapid growth is the partisanship of consumer groups. according to a recent report by the washington post, the buyers of electric vehicles in the united states are mainly democrats, and "most republicans have not yet joined the ranks." according to a gallup poll in march this year, 61% of democrats said they "are seriously considering" or "may consider" buying electric vehicles in the future, while only 24% of republicans have such plans.
are conservatives against electric cars? have electric cars become a polarizing issue in american politics? making conservatives sick of this “radical” technological change has been a key mission of the right-wing enterprise, including the right-wing media complex, at least since the advent of the electric car.
“they’re trying to kill electric cars again”
stills from the documentary "who killed the electric car?" (2016)
in the 2006 documentary “who killed the electric car?”, director chris paine explores the fall of the ev1, an environmentally friendly and low-cost electric car launched by general motors in the 1990s. after interviewing car companies, legislators, consumers and other witnesses, the film puts the blame on the oil giants and car manufacturers who maintain huge profits, as well as the federal government hijacked by big companies. on the douban page of this film, chinese netizens accurately and vividly evaluated it as a "political economy of energy class." however, 25 years later, it seems that the united states still needs to retake this cross-course of political, economic and history with a little communication studies added.
after the biden administration actively promoted the environmental protection agenda centered on electric vehicles, the fossil fuel industry has significantly increased its lobbying activities to hinder the adoption of new energy technologies. fossil energy giants such as exxonmobil and the koch family have actively fought in various states to suppress the construction plans of supporting facilities such as charging stations. "further delay of climate action" also appeared in the "2025 plan" designed to guide the next republican presidential administration. this controversial "conservative 'battle plan'" was drafted by the heritage foundation, which has a close relationship with the koch family.
the republican party is also actively incorporating electric vehicles into the new "awakening" culture war in the election year. even though the trump team publicly stated that it would distance itself from the "2025 project", the "moderate turn" trump still changed his restrained attitude since the third election and repeatedly made violent remarks on the issues of new energy and electric vehicles. david blaukmon, a right-wing commentator who "has worked in the oil and gas industry for 40 years", exclaimed that the time trump spent talking about energy at the republican convention on july 16 "may be the longest since the 'reagan-carter' era" and "previous presidential candidates have rarely mentioned this issue in similar speeches."
what is even more visible is that the right-wing media have continued their classic tactics, constantly isolating conservative audiences in a closed fortress full of partisan bias, shaping hostility towards "biden-branded" electric cars in order to help drive electric cars into the desert graveyard of arizona again.
biased "big brother"
in 2022, the sales of electric vehicles in the united states accounted for about 6% of the total national automobile sales. although this figure means an exponential growth compared to 2021, the right-wing media still skillfully turned it into an opportunity for attack and added some condiments that can shake the hearts of conservatives. fox news published a question from steve moore, a former economic adviser to trump, "only 6% of car sales are electric vehicles, so they are basically telling american consumers, 'we will make cars you don't want', how stupid is this?" the "late show" program was even more sarcastic, "electric vehicles are so popular that the government must issue decrees and issue subsidies." the negative interpretation of 6% is certainly not just to sing the pessimistic outlook for electric vehicles. the significance of strengthening the "people don't want to consume electric vehicles" is to prove that the democratic party's electric vehicle decree is exactly the "big government interventionism" that conservatives hate. after touching the bottom line of values, the right-wing media can use the name of the people to dissuade people from buying cars, such as shouting "people don't want the government to tell them what kind of cars they can buy", or using "this has nothing to do with electric cars, but the government is trying to control people's travel", "americans won't be able to choose what to drive and how to drive like they do now", "we're not ready yet, and they're coming to take your car", and other "big brother"-style clichés and conspiracy theories to hijack consumer decisions with political panic.
another right-wing strategy is to evoke a sense of unfairness that is more painful to conservatives. if the left's view of fairness focuses on the top "1%" in private companies, the right-wing conservatives hate public institutions and the growing group of idle "takers". in the book "strangers in their own land", the well-known sociologist arlie russell hochschild went deep into the tea party base camp and discovered a "deep story" that is unique to today's conservatives: they firmly believe that they are in a long queue leading to the "american dream" and believe that as long as they follow the rules, they can slowly reach the top of the mountain representing prosperity and security like their parents; but right-wing politicians and the media have repeatedly claimed that due to the democratic party's affirmative action, blacks, women, immigrants, refugees, and even brown pelicans that are also affected by oil extraction, and other "vulnerable people" have jumped to the front of the queue, causing conservatives who have made great efforts and even made great sacrifices to stagnate or even regress, and "the people who are jumped in line pay taxes, but the taxes go to those who jump in line." therefore, on the issue of electric cars, the right-wing media certainly did not forget to interpret this emotional law. the anchor of "fox & friends" patiently advised, "as for your point about tax credits, if you buy a $75,000 electric car, who pays for it? taxpayers. all taxpayers. every taxpayer pays for car subsidies for the rich or wealthy people who can afford $75,000. does this seem fair?" another well-known right-wing media, the daily caller, hit the nail on the head with the headlines: "rich americans are the biggest winners of government green subsidies" and "coastal elites who rule the democratic party offer themselves tax breaks for electric cars."
trapped in “unreliability”
in reality, the unstoppable tide of electric vehicles has prompted more and more traditional automakers to launch more affordable and more conservative electric vehicle models, and partisan seals such as "specially for coastal elites" have also been loosened. according to the washington post, in 2023, the electric vehicle purchase rate in several "trump strongholds" was higher than the national average, and some left-wing media cheered that "electric vehicle clusters are emerging in red states." even though such statements are somewhat whitewashed, the right-wing media has indeed turned their guns again, returning from metaphysically appealing to values or criticizing "climate activism" to hyping up the "unreliable" electric vehicle experience in specific life scenarios.
on january 15, 2024, the chicago area was hit by an extreme double-digit cold wave. due to the rapid depletion of batteries under low temperature conditions and the prolonged charging time, some car owners were trapped in tesla public charging stations. the news of "frozen electric cars" immediately triggered a carnival in the right-wing media. opinion leaders either exaggerated it to "all electric cars in chicago cannot run" or insinuated that "if you buy an electric car, you are praying for global warming"; the host of the conservative pay tv station blazetv joked on x: "the charging station is full of electric cars that have run out of power. thanks to everyone's green travel, the traffic situation is much better now"; the daily call made a "black mirror"-style doomsday judgment: "a group of dead robots", and then continued another counterattack topic in the next news, "electric car sales have rebounded" and "electric car owners hope to return to ordinary cars."
such a large number of post-truth misinformation and false information obviously played an important role in shaping public opinion about electric vehicles. media matters analyzed the electric vehicle content on facebook from january to may this year and found that right-wing reports such as the aforementioned tesla breakdown incident and electric vehicle sales setbacks grabbed attention, and negative electric vehicle comments on a large number of right-wing pages drowned out positive reports. the "unreliability" of electric vehicles has further integrated into the basic cognition of conservatives: under a report in the daily cry about california's first all-electric police car fleet, a comment said wittily, "next, every donut shop in town will have a charging station." james morris, senior editor of the independent electric vehicle website whichev, lamented with concern, "the current situation seems to be no different from the situation when ev1 was flooded." many rumors that are not conducive to the electric vehicle industry are spreading rapidly, and negative emotions against electric vehicles in news and social media have increased significantly.
so, will conservatives really oppose and always oppose electric vehicles? the answer may not be complicated. as long as you push open the door of the right-wing "echo chamber", party politics has never been the only answer to explain group preferences. in the book "prius or pickup?" published in 2018, polarization experts marc hetherington and jonathan weiler mentioned that many divisions in american society are to some extent due to deep-rooted psychological "worldviews". liberals tend to be more afraid of systemic problems such as climate change and are more willing to accept changes, while conservatives are more hesitant to adopt new technologies. as a result, conservatives stick to the large cars and trucks they are familiar with, while liberals buy hybrid cars or electric cars. mike murphy, founder of the "ev politics project" to fight against electric car disinformation and a senior republican consultant, also proposed a solution that appeals to depoliticization. specifically, promoting electric cars as environmentally friendly "good guys' cars" will alienate "republicans who tend to be skeptical about climate change." therefore, on the one hand, the hundreds of millions of dollars of electric car investment in swing states such as michigan and georgia should be emphasized. "if republicans want to declare war on the largest emerging source of manufacturing jobs in the most important electoral states, they will suffer the consequences." on the other hand, "electric car manufacturers must focus on the basics of car sales: fast, quiet, fun, and require less maintenance, which are very popular among republican consumers" - "why? because they care about the driving experience, not political issues."
tongxin (institute of journalism, shanghai academy of social sciences)
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