#ncga: Tempers appear to flare as GOPers take renewable energy debate to social media
The folks at Civitas have done a bang-up job HERE and HERE of exposing and detailing a rather unseemly relationship between Republican legislators, political consultants, and left-wing environmentalists regarding government subsidies and mandates for renewable energy.
Earlier this week, a GOP-dominated House committee shot down HB 681, a measure sponsored by Rep. Chris Millis (R-Pender) to — among other things — sunset the power-bill inflating alternative energy mandates for the state’s public utilities.
In the aftermath of the committee vote, Millis appeared to get the ball rolling on his Facebook page:
At this point, Rep. John Blust (R-Guilford) jumped into the discussion.
Former Rep. Nathan Ramsey (R-Bumcombe), who lost his 2014 reelection bid, tossed in his two cents.
Rep. Kelly Hastings (R-Gaston) joined the discussion. (He was one of the Republican legislators highlighted in Civitas’s investigative pieces cited earlier in this post.)
It’s pretty clear that Hastings is feeling some heat from the grassroots for his ties to the GOP solar cabal IDed and exposed by Civitas. He took to his own Facebook page to offer up a defense:
According to my friends in Raleigh Rep Hasting has traditionally missed more votes in committee and on the House floor than any other Rep. You are Elected to make tough decisions . Someone needs to tell him that a no show vote is a yes vote for the other side. Why you at it remind him just because they give you a check doesnt necessarily mean you have to vote their way.
Rep Hastings needs to vote for the conservatives in his Dist Please remind him he was sent to Raleigh to support the changing of the ole guard, not create a new one. He signed a TAX pledge and we will remind him of that when he runs again! He can count on many mailers about breaking his promise to the voters.
Hastings has clearly shown that he is not a conservative. He has also shown that he is not much of a Republican either because he directly voted against the position set out in the state Republican platform on this issue. Hastings needs a conservative Republican primary opponent and he needs to be eviscerated on this issue. He has screwed us all. It looks like he was more a special interest guy than a radical environmentalist guy, but damn the difference.
What, my good Al Gore Republicans under attack? I must come to the internet (which I invented, of course) to defend them.
It does not matter that Renewable Energy Mandates send electric customers bills into the stratosphere. It saves polar bears, and consumers should pay through the nose to do that. And who cares if the taxpayers spend millions that would otherwise go to things like roads and education to subsidize my friends like Tom Steyer and George Soros and others in the renewable energy business in that other bill. The hard care environmental cause demands it, so it must be done.
I want to particularly thank the two Al Gore Republican consultants who were instrumental in conning Republicans into going against their own party principles and against their own constituents to subsidize renewable energy and to keep the renewable energy mandate. Dee Stewart and Paul Shumaker are the real heroes of the hard core environmental cause. Without them, we could not have overcome the GOP grassroots. We did pay them a lot our of our hard core environmental coffers, but to them money means more than principle, so they got the job done.
Blust used to be one of those nasty conservative Republicans. It is good that Stewart and Shumaker have turned him. Hastings doesn’t pay enough attention to things to have a clue about what he is doing, and so is easily led by consultants.
I am sure that those nasty Koch Brothers and their organizations will probably carpet bomb the districts of the five Republicans who saved the renewable energy mandates with information showing that they screwed their constituents to the wall to do it. My reaction to that is that we ought to ban the Koch brothers and all their organizations because they do not like polar bears.
Oh, and do any of you have any information on good looking masseuses who will do hotel visits. After my little episode in Seattle, I would like ones who are discreet and cooperative.
Well, what’s missing so far is the fact that solar and wind tie up an enormous amount of land-gee no more farms or open space. Land fenced off with barbed wire-that’s got to be environmentally friendly!. In addition It is not reliable (no sun no power) and has a limited life span (5-10 yrs) . And what about the environmental hazards of disposing of used/broken solar panels. Not to say that in time the technology will not improve but we’ve been down this road before, remember 1975? How far did that get us? Common sense aint’ so common any more.
Shocking – The GOPe standing against the Free market by picking winners and losers in the way of grants, subsidies & incentives. Grants, incentives and subsidies hurt the taxpayers and in this situation hurt consumers as well. It’s a double whammy against us, the citizens of North Carolina. Hey, but who cares about us anyway, as long as those campaign contributions keep rolling in and the GOP turns a blind eye to the liberal agenda being led by the R’s and the total disregard for their platform.
The bright side of this situation is that conservatives from across the State are getting to know what a principled conservative Chris Millis. He is unapologetic and unafraid of the bullies in the GOPe. Thank you Chris, keep up the great work. We have your back.
Anyone concerned about this issue and thinking of voting for Craig Collins for NCGOP chairman needs to connect the dots.
Liberal Republican consultant Dee Stewart took big money from far left environmental groups to push taxpayer ripoff subsidies for renewable energy, something that will jack up the electric bills of NC consumers.
http://www.nccivitas.org/2015/special-report-conservatives-pushing-big-solar-funded-by-the-left/
Dee Stewart is also the consultant for Craig Collins in his NCGOP chairman’s race.
Dee Stewart would be the same sort of extremely evil influence on Collins that he has been on too many GOP legislators in this debacle. We do not need an NCGOP chairman who is connected to the likes of Dee Stewart.