In a recent POLITICO article titled “[The] search is on for a GOP climate convert,” reporter Andrew Restuccia discussed environmentalists’ so-far-unsuccessful search for an influential Republican to join their ranks.
“Some greens have a wish list for the kind of Republican they’d want to see joining their team — someone like Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie or former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush,” Resuccia wrote.
Environmentalists are comparing their search for Republican converts to what they’ve seen done by the gay marriage movement. Some Republican politicians have started to soften their stance on gay marriage, especially as public opinion has shifted. According to POLITICO, “Environmentalists are searching for a Rob Portman to call their own — a high-profile Republican who would emulate the Ohio senator’s flip on gay marriage.”
But while they’re hoping to garner the support of a big name potential 2016 Republican presidential contender, environmental groups are also focusing on state-level offices where a lot of the environmental mandates and regulations are implemented.
“[We’re] looking at the state level with our local chapters all the way up through Congress,” Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune said when asked about their recruiting efforts.
That means dialing in on state public service commissions, which are charged with regulating each state’s energy sector.
In Alabama, Republican Public Service Commissioner Terry Dunn has been the answer to the enviros prayers.
Dunn certainly doesn’t fit the bill of a household name who can shift the national conversation, but his significance in the environmental community centers around two things:
1. Dunn is in a decision-making position
Winning over a Republican congressman here and there might be good for the environmentalists’ PR efforts, but individual congressmen have little chance to move the needle on environmental policy. But in Alabama the PSC is a panel with only three members, so to wreak havoc the enviros just need two commissioners sympathetic to their cause.
2. Dunn is in a southern state
The southeast United States is the bane of the environmentalist movement’s existence. While northeastern states have signed up for the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a “cap and trade program for greenhouse gas emissions from power plants,” the southeast has resisted. As a result, energy prices in the southeast have stayed far below those of our northeastern neighbors, and economic development has boomed.
President Obama’s political organization, Organizing for Action (OFA), has been actively working in southern states to “out the climate-change deniers.” They recently delivered unicorn trophies to 135 congressmen across the country who have not signed on to Obama’s environmental push.
OFA showed up at Alabama Congressman Robert Aderholt’s district office and launched into a tirade against the coal industry, which is a major employer in the area.
“Everyone I know is sick,” one unidentified environmental activist said. “What you’re talking about and promoting is not natural. Breaking the bones of mother earth is not natural.”
Aderholt said the environmentalists’ agenda does not resonate with Alabamians.
“The only climate we should be talking about today is this country’s stalled economic and jobs climate,” Aderholt quipped.
But in spite of the fierce resistance conservative circles, the climate change crew continues to push forward with their search for Republican partners.
“Climate is one of those things that we’re all going to have to hold hands and do…together,” energy strategist Mike McKenna to POLITICO.
They’ve already found one elected Alabama Republican in Commissioner Dunn who’s willing to work with them. It will be worth watching to see if they can find more.
[Editor’s note: the logos featured on Dunn’s car in the picture above were added to illustrate the point that he’s siding with liberal environmental groups, similar to what would be done in a traditional editorial cartoon. Although this is abundantly obvious to most, we felt it necessary to clarify as to eliminate any confusion whatsoever.]
Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims
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