I’m not one to beat up on people for trying to leave a small economic footprint and doing their small part to protect the environment, but when they advocate gigantic job-killing government programs to force people do the same, I have a problem.

No, I’m not trying to kill the planet. I merely think that the science on what causes global warming climate change isn’t settled.  At this point, if you’re an environmentalist, you probably interpreted that last sentence as I don’t believe the climate is changing. Read it again. The climate is changing, but you just haven’t yet convinced me that the cause is man-made.

Maybe David Allgood, the Southern California director of the California League of Conservation Voters has some smoking-gun evidence that he’ll present to the Conejo Valley Democratic Club on Wednesday, but I doubt it.

I think the environmental movement is comprised of many genuine believers—displaying all the symptoms of religious fanatics—with some very opportunistic people at the top exaggerating the threat of climate change so they can profit either personally or professionally by passing a big-government agenda.

The CLCV, which is technically a nonpartisan outfit, pushes public officials to support such legislation. Like most interest groups, they publish a legislator scorecard and commentary on upcoming elections:

Protecting the environment is more difficult than ever in California’s—and our nation’s—challenging economic climate. But next year is an election year. Our campaigns are already underway to re-elect environmental hero Senator Barbara Boxer, to elect new champions to the state Assembly and Senate, and to elect a new governor.

Yes, Barbara Boxer, who was championing Cap-and-Trade legislation before she became too much of a handful for her own party, is an environmental hero. Fortunately, she’s proven to be incapable of passing anything substantive in the environmental arena (or anywhere else for that matter), but she votes “correctly” on the subject.

Environmentalism is the perfect Democratic issue: it’s hard to prove or disprove, it sounds appealing, a “community effort” is needed to solve it (and all the tax dollars that entails), it pleases the politically active far left, and it provides for the punishment of greedy corporations.  

And, according to Princeton political science professor Melissa Harris-Lacewell, environmental money can be funneled to another key component in the Democratic base—minorities.

“Green is the new black….Budgets are being cut everywhere, and the one place where there is a lot of political will is these green initiatives,” she said, noting that members of the Congressional Black Caucus “see that one way to get appropriations is not to pitch them as black or brown or traditional civil rights issues, but to pitch them as green.”

So, while the speakers and attendees of the meeting on Wednesday are likely to be genuine believers in the green movement, they are also unwitting participants in a political game. The main player is the Democratic Party, which sees a win/win/win/win situation by embracing all things green.

But in its eagerness for political victory, it is damaging our already brittle economy and engorging an already out-of-control government.

Our Senate race in California is going to be downright fascinating, and if you're a Republican there has to be at least one candidate for you to really feel good about in this thing.

If you didn't get to see Chuck DeVore on Glenn Beck's show today, you must take 2:30 and give this a watch:

Chuck isn't some Doug Hoffman, who's more an idea than a real candidate; he acquits himself very well and truly communicates deeply about Constitutional matters he sees as important. Great TV.

Unfortunately, this is only the second of two segments he did with Beck today; the first was even better.

And earlier in the same program, Carly Fiorina appeared for a segment and did a fine job herself. Both these two candidates are terrific, and if Beck's site posts their appearances or if their campaigns want to send along the You Tube links, I'll glady update this post and include the other video segments here. Campbell's a pro. Carly's turning out to be a real pro. DeVore undoubtedly belongs, as well.

For folks here in Orange County, I thought they'd be interested in seeing what an articulate spokesperson for limited government Chuck DeVore has become.

Team Fiorina has let it be known that Senate Candidate, Carly Fiorina, will be announcing her position on the Citizen Power campaign tomorrow, California's paycheck protection initiative.

The title of this post my be an assumption, but I think it's safe to speculate that she will end up on the "good" list with us, as she will probably be issuing up a strong endorsement of the initiative.

Here's the campaign's release:

Now, I'm sure when Audi aired its "Green Police"  Super Bowl commercial, they were just looking for a laugh. Considering how bad the commercials were, it proved not to be hard. And, as indicated by the 50 or so Facebook status updates on my tracker, a lot of people see it as a creepy look into the future.  It is already happening here in San Francisco. Watch the ad.

That part with Eco Cops going through people's trash? And the "compost infraction"? San Francisco has laws requiring everyone to have 3 trashcans - one for trash, one for recycling, and one for composting. Of course, there are penalties if you do not comply.  No one has been penalized yet, but only because San Francisco hasn't set up its enforcement force...yet.

But doing just that is part of the Eco plan. San Francisco will have its own Green Police and, knowing San Francisco, they will be on the same stupid-looking electric scooters they have in the ad. We will have people checking our trash.

Plastic bags have already been banned in the City. There was just a big battle at City Hall over whether we should regulate the SHADOWS buildings cast. The City has been encouraging people to throw out incandescent bulbs and replacing them with lead-filled (didn't lead used to be an environmental hazard?) flourescent bulbs. Still laughing?

Living in this environment, witnessing a Green Police cracking down on personal use of a hot tub, or checking the mileage your car gets, or being able to pull over REAL COPS,  isn't a joke. It's a real possibility.  I'm sure it is only a matter of time before someone at our City Hall thinks this is a good idea. Good thing that my 900cc, carberauted motorcycle will outrun those electric scooters.

Late last night, I contributed to Citizen Power, the paycheck protection initiative here in California.

That might sound very strange if you happened to read my Friday column, which both talked about the dismal state of the signature gathering process and also came down pretty hard on tea party leader, Mark Meckler.

But here’s the thing about the condition of the signature-gathering process: it’s not Meckler’s fault. He’s not a professional signature gatherer—he’s an attorney, for crying out loud! A concerned citizen.

The fact is, he and volunteers like him have been put in a terrible position on this initiative because the donor community simply hasn’t stepped up.

Having been around the folks who birthed this initiative idea at least a couple of years ago, it has been very strange to see recent developments—it has been like watching the team that can march the ball up and down the football field but just can’t punch it in for a touchdown. Along the way, a well-developed plan of action was put together. I didn’t necessarily agree with every part of it, but the people behind it were trying to do creative things to prepare for a successful push to the ballot—good people who are in this not for their own glory, but because they want to make a big, positive difference in a state which desperately needs it.

Yet in recent weeks Citizen Power has been one big fizzle.

Want to see something truly gruesome? In that Friday Meckler post, I linked to the filing which shows what he has been paid. Much, much worse—if you can even stand to look at it—is the contributions page. In addition to a few intrepid individuals who have written checks, there’s the Lincoln Club, the Family Action PAC and literally nobody else. The donor community is simply absent.

Seeing this, and before writing about Meckler, I made a decision: if Citizen Power didn’t garner the required signatures to make it to the ballot, it wouldn’t be because I sat by and did nothing.

What I’m doing—and what you can, too

So, I made my contribution last night. Here’s a link to where you can donate, as well.

Heck, I hadn’t even signed a petition myself yet, a condition I have rectified as of this morning. Print out your own petition here.

And although ten days ago I told Orange County GOP Chairman, Scott Baugh, that I didn’t have time to help him—he’s looking for 1001 people to gather 100 signed petitions each—I have changed my mind and will simply find the time to get those signatures. I am certainly quite busy—but so are a lot of other people and besides, what is more important than this to our state?

The answer: nothing. Not whom we elect as Governor, not whom we choose to run against Barbara Boxer this Fall. The need for starving the public employee unions is clear, and if we could pass Citizen Power we could dramatically alter the landscape the political playing field by decimating the funding source of perhaps the most pernicious influence on our state’s finances—the public employee unions.

Why donating now is so critical

Scott Baugh understands what’s at stake and, to his great credit, he is pouring his heart and soul into this initiative. To this end, he is looking for 77 people who can not only collect 100 signatures, but who can find 12 friends to do the same (77 x 13 = the 1001 people I mentioned above). In hopes of giving a huge jump-start to this campaign, he is hosting a rally this Saturday at the Slide Bar in Fullerton at 10:00 am. From there, these 1001 volunteers will fan out to collect the rest of their signed petitions. To learn how you can help Scott by becoming one of his signature gatherers, email him at sbaugh@sbaugh.com.

But even if Baugh’s noble effort works to its full extent, the 100,000 signatures he hopes to collect would represent 1/10^th the total needed to qualify paycheck protection for the ballot.

Thus, the near-term reality is very clear: to have any shot at gathering the signatures in time to make the ballot, Citizen Power will require paid, professional signature gatherers. And that will require money.

NOW.

Click here to contribute.

Red County’s small role in all of this

To all Red County bloggers up and down this state: put all other topics aside for the moment. Pick up the phone and call a few of the Republican electeds and the biggest donor groups in your area and ask them if they and every member of their staffs have signed the petition. Ask them how much money they plan on contributing. Call other county GOP chairpersons and compare their efforts to Baugh’s.

In Orange County, for example, our Allan Bartlett will be calling the New Majority to find out how much that well-heeled donor organization is going to contribute to Citizen Power and when. If they don’t participate, he will hang them here in an article for all fellow Republicans to see. We need you, too, GenNext; expect Allan’s call. If you’re a business or donor group and I haven’t named you here, it does not mean you’re safe, by the way.

Republicans need to know who is playing ball on this one and to the best of our ability, we intend to tell them.

Fear the people more than the unions

Many elected officials in our party are quietly hoping this initiative will simply go away, that it will fail to qualify for the ballot without them having to take a stand.

This is where, in my opinion, Mark Meckler and his tea party activists could bring huge value. I suggested in my Friday column that based on the record perhaps he shouldn’t be paid to collect signatures, and I meant it.

But he and the tea partiers in California certainly have enough manpower up and down this state to force literally every elected Republican official to go on record.

Members of Congress, state-wide elected officials, city council member, no matter— they are all easily within reach, and we will need their influence if Citizen Power is going to qualify. From what I hear, a lot of Democrats would quietly like to see this thing pass, too, so they could then actually have a shot at getting control of the state budget. They’re just too afraid to say so.

Here at Red County, though, we will focus on the Republicans, who also fear the unions.

They need to fear the rest of us more.

Burn up their phone lines. Go to their offices. Meckler and his fellow activists could end up being worth their weight in gold if they could help bring such pressure to bear.

Taking action is simple

As you’re reading this page right now, there are so many things you can do to help.

Sign the petition.

Donate.

Volunteer to collect 100 signatures (sbaugh@sbaugh.com).

Spend a minute on Google to find the phone number of just one Republican elected official in your area. Spend one more minute on the phone confirming 1) that everyone in his or her office has signed a petition and 2) asking how much money they are going to donate to support Citizen Power.

If you don’t do one or more of these simple things and this initiative does not make it to the ballot, it is your fault. And in 2010 of all years, that would be a travesty.

Will you do your part?

Let me say it more plainly, more like I’m thinking it inside my head right now:

If you are a Republican of any stripe and you’re reading this article: GET OFF YOUR REAR END RIGHT NOW AND DO ONE OF THE FOLLOWING FOUR THINGS to help qualify paycheck protection for the ballot: sign the petition, donate, collect petition signatures and/or get on the horn to local GOP elected officials and candidates.

As for myself: the minute I push the button to post this article live to Red County, I’ll be walking down the hall. By a fantastic coincidence, our office is on the exact same floor as my own state Assemblyman. I promise you: he and every member of his staff will be signing this petition or I will take him apart here on these pages. I also happened to notice that as of a report filed on January 25^th, his campaign had $250,000 cash on hand—for a race he will win in his sleep. A few of those dollars would make a huge difference to this initiative right now—and might even help make up for some of the awful union pension votes he himself has cast throughout his political career.

You might have thought on Friday that I was just out here complaining? Admittedly, that is some of what you do when you’re writing about politics.

But I’m an activist first, one who is learning more and more about how to use this Red County vehicle he also has his hands on. Let’s make this a little test of our blog network here in California. Let’s see how much pressure we can help apply to Republicans at every level by using it.

If you come across an elected Republican who does not work to support Citizen Power, email our Megan Barth: mbarth@redcounty.com so we can hammer that person on our pages for all to see.

Don’t report to us the ones who are playing ball to us; in my opinion, one should not get credit merely for breathing. As Scott Baugh essentially said in his all-important speech last month, this issue really is that fundamental if you’re a Republican. Red County only wants to know about the miscreants.

Giving credit to those who help

That said, if you do get a commitment of help from an elected official, Clare Venegas of the Lincoln Club has agreed to keep that list. Simply ask the elected official you speak with for three kinds of help…they can:

1)      Sign the petition

2)      Endorse the initiative

3)      Donate money to support it

Or all of the above, of course. Regardless, you can report any such help to Clare at the following email address: clare@lincolnclub.org.

She has offered to keep the running list of ‘good guys,’ and to update it via the site on a regular basis.

What happens next is up to you

In the end, this could be just a singular post which gets a little attention for a day or two. Or, you could heed its words, take action and then use this public forum to help fix one of the problems most responsible for the tattered fiscal condition this state finds itself in today—the incredible power of public employee unions.

Republican officials hope this one will just go away; most of them don’t want to publicly support this thing because they’re afraid the unions will target them in their next elections. But if every single Republican elected endorsed paycheck protection, unions wouldn’t be able to target them all—especially in 2010, when they’ll be trying to elect Jerry Brown, (hopefully) spending money to defeat this initiative and defending Congressional seats they would never have dreamed would be competitive.

Make every Republican elected official in this state fear you more than the public employee unions.

Me? I’m walking down the hall to have a little chat with the folks in Jim Silva’s office…

A 99^th birthday celebration was thrown for the late Ronald Reagan at his eponymic library Saturday, with about a thousand people celebrating the life and achievements of the conservative icon.

Elizabeth Dole, Reagan’s former transportation secretary, told them that “the idea of limited government is alive and well.”

The Reagan Library has big plans for the centennial celebration. At yesterday’s party, the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation announced it will donate about $12.75 million to the renovation of the museum area.

I have to stop sometimes and remember how fortunate I am that the library for one of the greatest presidents in the nation’s history is right in our own backyard.