Posts Tagged ‘cap and trade’

Twin City Tea Party report 2 4-26-10

Posted: April 28, 2010 by datechguy in internet/free speech, local stuff, tea parties
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On Monday Night the Twin City Tea Party had its latest meeting.

This month’s meeting was was shorter and more direct. Last month over 80 people showed forcing the use of the upstairs room. This month the topography was a bit different. There was a general seating area where people who just wanted to hear the speakers had chairs set up while the serving tables remains for those (like myself) who planned on eating and drinking. It increased the capacity of the lower room considerably, however with the enthusiasm of the big rallies of Tax day behind them and with some time the crowd was smaller (46 people) but quite attentive.

Last month there were a half dozen speakers some of them rather long winded. This month it seemed the theme was “less is more” and it worked out well. A single candidate Mary Connaughton a republican running for State Auditor attended making a very good case for her candidacy based on credentials and past actions. She was considerably more effective than the gentleman who spoke on her behalf last time. If nothing else it looks like for the auditor position there is a wealth of good candidates.

Justin Brooks who has organized the local group had made it a point to reach out to several different democratic candidates to invite them to the event but received either no response or regrets due to conflicts. This is a large mistake If the democrat party concedes the economic argument to the republicans they will lose it by default.

The next subject raised was the Cap and Trade bill. John Weston destroyed his qualifications for congress by actually reading the bill. He didn’t like what he saw and neither did the audience:

Mauricio Cardozo, A Local High School student spoke next asking advice on forming a Tea Party group/club in his school was next soliciting suggestions and the crowd responded with many ideas to advance and attract young people to the cause.

One common theme after the speakers was the idea of both educating people on both the tea parties and the positions they hold. A Summit May 7th & 8th in Danvers had some potential but from the reaction of both the crowd and both new and old attendees it was the meat of the Cap and Trade bill that really moved them. This seems like the field where the next battle will be fought.

Update: Error in the title on the date, corrected.

Cap and Trade and the Hell’s Canyon Dam

Posted: June 26, 2009 by datechguy in opinion/news
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In 1957 Senator Lyndon Johnson had a problem. He wanted to be elected president but it was apparent that no southern candidate could win the democratic nomination without being made pure on Civil rights. Due to the use of the filibuster (these were they days before 60 vote cloture) the southern democrats were able to block any kind of vote so it was necessary to craft a bill weak enough to keep the democrats from filibustering while not gutting the bill to the point where supporters of civil rights would consider it a scam. Johnson managed in one of the most amazing balancing acts in political history managed to shepherd the Civil Rights act of 1957 through the Senate.

One of the pieces of that puzzle was a vote on the Hell’s Canyon Dam. A freshman Senator Frank Church and other senators from the northwest had been fighting for that dam for years to no effect. Johnson managed to make a deal with those senators that in exchange for the votes needed to remove parts of the Civil Rights Bill (section III) unacceptable to the south, southern senators would provide the votes to get the Hell’s Canyon bill through the senate.

What those senators didn’t realize but Johnson did was the House of Representatives would reject the dam. It would be another 7 years (under President Lyndon Johnson) before the dam would be approved and a full decade before it opened.

Something similar is going on right now with Cap & Trade. President Obama and the House Democratic leadership are looking for a win for political reasons and house democrats leaders are making deals to get the votes they need for passage. Like LBJ of old democrat leaders know they are selling a pig in a poke to their members for their own political benefit on a bill that will not actually help those who it purports to help.

The question remains will the undecided members see through it? Time will tell.