How to stop Cap and Trade

Congratulations, you’re already part of the way there. "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." – Confucius and Lao-tzu

The Cap & Trade Legislation is predicated on the flimsy supposition that there may be global warming because of human activity and the even flimsier supposition that we can do something about it. This is prompting the administration and Congress to consider imposing a heavy tax burden on our citizens, as well as inflicting staggering lifestyle changes on our society. It’s pretty clear that our citizens’ well being is not being considered at all.

Unfortunately, our representatives in Washington have no backbone. They belong to one party one day and then switch to another the next day. First they support legislation because that’s the way the wind is blowing. When the wind changes, so do they.

These guys are here for now; so, we have to deal with it. The good news, though, is we can make them obey the will of the people. We just have to make sure that these Congressmen and Senators are made aware of the people’s will in no uncertain terms. 1000 people at each Congressman’s office with signed petitions of another 5000 people will do nicely. Let’s call these activities or demonstrations “Tea Party Plus”, perhaps “Cap and Trade Party”, or how about “Tea Party 2454”.

Is this realistic? You betcha. A lot of us are very angry and we don’t want to watch our beloved country wind up as a footnote to history. What we need to is organize into action groups with very specific objectives and goals. Lest we forget, this sort of anger and these types of action groups compelled politicians to make the most profound changes to our society when Martin Luther King and others led the Civil Rights movement in 1960’s.

The next point is not to get panicky. It may take a few months to accomplish the goals of “Tea Party 2454”, but, as Sarah Palin said on the eve of Independence Day, “A good point guard drives through a full court press, protecting the ball, keeping her eye on the basket”. With our eyes on the basket, we will win for all America.

How about Online Petitions? Online petitions are OK – Congressmen do pay attention to them, but they don’t have the same power, the same in-your-face impact as 1000 people showing up in a Congressman’s office demanding action. We are really dealing with a form of combat here. So, whereas online petitions can be likened to airpower, the organizers are the foot soldiers of the organization’s infantry. They are the ones who will win the war. That’s the lesson we learned from Dr. King.

What are the objectives? We need to become informed of the issues framing Cap and Trade from a scientific perspective, from a social perspective, from a financial perspective, and from a political perspective. We need to understand our point of view on the issues as well as the point of view of those who are pushing for Cap and Trade. We need to be able to honestly explain these issues to those who will join us in our cause – the signers and the marchers.

What are the goals? The goals are straightforward and quantifiable. We formulate a petition to a) ask Congress to cease and desist with any activities related to Cap and Trade, or b) ask Congress to repeal any Cap and Trade legislation that may have been passed. We will have 5000 voters sign the petition in each Congressional district irrespective of political affiliation or preference. Furthermore, we will form a committee of 1000 people to march the petition to the Congressman’s office on the appointed day. We will attempt to coordinate all the marches so that they occur on the same day.

How do we accomplish the objectives? Getting organized is crucial. Being informed is crucial. Communicating with our fellow citizens is crucial. This is a three legged stool which will be strong enough to support us all. Furthermore, the Stop Cap and Trade Organization will be divided into three distinct groups: a mind trust, which is the information repository, organizers, who will recruit signers and marchers, and coordinators.

The mind trust group will learn the relevant issues, translate them into plain-speak, and relay this information to the rest of the organization. This group does not have to become expert on the issues; you can be pretty certain that members of Congress know very little about any of Cap and Trade. Again, the “mind trust” does not have to read through hundreds of pages of legislation; here, again, our group can take a clue from Congress. Rather, the “mind trust” should learn the relevant issues so as to help the organizers with their recruitment efforts. The “mind trust” will also be the central information clearinghouse for the Stop Cap and Trade Organization.

In case you haven’t guessed it by now, our “organizers” are similar to the critters we became acquainted with in the last election. We most definitely need to differentiate ourselves from them, but, we must learn from them also. This is for keeps. I won’t get into all this right here. Those of you who will become the “organizers” will find out what I’m talking about. But, let me explain that the “organizers” will meet with all sorts of people and convey our message. Moreover, the “organizers” will encourage voters to sign our petitions and march with us.

This brings us to the last group. Some people are good at coordinating and like to do it. We will definitely need a lot of help in that area.