Tea Party split over solar power for Georgia?

Walter Jones write about a split in policy between Debbie Dooley, National Coordinator for Tea Party Patriots and Virginia Galloway, Georgia State Coordinator of Americans for Prosperity Georgia, and one of the sponsors of the first major Tea Party event in Georgia, the Tax Day Tea Party Rally on April 15, 2009 at the Georgia State Capitol.

[T]wo of Georgia’s most prominent tea party groups have come down on opposite sides in the debate over requiring Georgia Power to use a set amount of solar energy.

The Public Service Commission votes July 11 on the company’s 20-year plan, and one commissioner had said he’ll propose a doubling of the roughly 250 megawatts of solar power the utility has planned. That vote is the rallying point for the activists in both groups, the Tea Party Patriots and Americans for Prosperity.

Debbie Dooley, national coordinator of the Patriots, was one of dozens of people testifying during a multi-month commission hearing on the plan. She favors increased use of solar, in particular a request by the start-up Georgia Solar Utilities.

Virginia Galloway, Americans for Prosperity’s state director and one of the earliest organizers of the anti-tax rallies in 2009 that spawned the tea-party movement, says renewable-energy mandates in other states led to 40-percent higher electricity costs.

“It’s like saying you have to buy groceries this week and you have to buy a certain amount from Whole Foods … and I can get everything at Publix less expensively,” she said.

Public Service Commissioner Doug Everett responds to AFP-GA

After Americans for Prosperity Georgia sent an email asking its members to contact Public Service Commissioners and ask them to oppose renewable portfolio standards that would mandate additional solar power in Georgia’s energy mix, Republican Public Service Commissioner Doug Everett responded:

I want to first of all assure you that my highest priority as a member of the Public Service Commission is ensuring that Georgians have a reliable supply of electricity and gas at the lowest possible rate, and I cast every vote on the Commission with that in mind.

I have stated and will tell you that I will not vote for any solar power projects unless they meet the following criteria:

1. That they will not put upward pressure on rates for consumers or businesses;
2. That they do not create a solar monopoly; and
3. that they do not change the Territorial Services Act, which helps ensure the reliability and affordability of electricity in Georgia. To do away with the territorial act would increase one’s bill dramatically.

I believe that Georgia can integrate some solar power into our electrical systems while maintaining low rates and high reliability. I agree with Governor Deal that those are two of the major factors that help Georgia attract new jobs and I do not intend to vote for anything that would jeopardize Georgia’s competitiveness or the ability of my fellow Georgians to afford the power they need for their homes and businesses.

And Lying Liars Lie

Democratic political consultant Tim Alborg took to Twitter yesterday to accuse Virginia Galloway of lying about the massive solar program that the PSC will vote on July 11th.

That is a lie, pure and simple. The AFP-GA email said that a program to be proposed by PSC Member Bubba McDonald is a “Renewable Portfolio Standard” or “RPS,” which will drive up rates for consumers and businesses. Alborg says it’s not an RPS. So what is a “Renewable Portfolio Standard”?

According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, “A renewable portfolio standard (RPS) is a regulatory mandate to increase production of energy from renewable sources such as wind, solar, biomass and other alternatives to fossil and nuclear electric generation. It’s also known as a renewable electricity standard.”

The action by the PSC is a regulatory mandate by a government agency. No question about it. By mandating an additional 500 megawatts of solar energy in Georgia’s power mix, it fulfills the second part of the NREL definition. So, AFP-GA is correct and Tim Alborg either doesn’t understand what he’s talking about or he’s lying in the above statement.

So why would Tim Alborg lie about what is clearly a renewable portfolio standard? Because he’s a Democrat who managed the failed campaign of Steve Oppenheimer against conservative Republican Public Service Commissioner Chuck Eaton. That campaign was based on the idea that Georgians need to be forced to buy more solar and it was roundly rejected at the ballot box when Eaton won reelection.

Now Tim Alborg is a lobbyist for Georgia Solar Utility, which is pushing McDonald’s motion to award it a preferential contract for massive amounts of solar energy to be forced on Georgia consumers and shut out the vast majority of small solar providers in Georgia. Because they couldn’t fool Georgia voters into adopting the Obama-Pelosi agenda, they’re trying to simply fool three members of the Public Service Commission by lying about what their proposal does.

National Federation of Republican Women coming to Atlanta

Yesterday, the Georgia Federation of Republican Women announced that the National Federation of Republican Women Southeast Regional Conference will be held in Atlanta on July 19-20, 2013 at the Waverly Renaissance Hotel, located at 2450 Galleria Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30339.

Guest speakers will include:
Governor Nathan Deal & First Lady Sandra Deal
US Senator Rafael Edward “Ted” Cruz
RNC Co-Chair Sharon Day
Professor Jeffrey F. Addicott
Karen Kanes Floyd
Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez
Lionel Sosaz
Martha Zoller

Personally, I’d be interested in hearing a discussion of how the Republican Party can recruit more women to run for office. The Republican National Committee recently announced the creation of a new program designed to do that, but I regard the RNC with the same suspicion as I view the federal government. There’s a reason we make them stay in Washington, DC.

The “Women on the Right UNITE” effort is run by the Republican National Committee, NRCC, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Republican State Leadership Committee, College Republican National Committee and Republican Governors Association. The goal is to help female candidates ascend to all levels of government.

The event provided some details about the recruitment program, including providing training on using digital tools to better relay messages to women voters and potential candidates, polling and fundraising support, as well as mentoring from many of the 19 women in the House GOP caucus.

“We recognize that America needs more women involved in political leadership; to show our commitment as a party to developing better relationships with women voters,” said RNC Chairman Reince Priebus at the event.

The solution appears to be throw a bunch of current political buzzwords into a salad bowl, toss liberally, and fail at the ballot box. But Georgia has strong women leaders in the General Assembly, at the local level, and definitely within the state and local party organizations. I’d like to hear what they think are the impediments to attracting more female GOP candidates and what we can do to foster their growth in numbers.

Two viewpoints on Immigration

D.A. King writes that Republicans in Congress should take their lessons from the history of immigration reform, specifically 1986 and 2006.

As happened in 2006, amnesty has passed the Senate again.

The future of American sovereignty, security and employment access is now up to the U.S. House of Representatives, in which members must face re-election every two years.

Home on a July 4th break and gauging public resistance to another amnesty, the House GOP will meet on July 10 back in Washington to compare notes and decide how – or even if – to handle promises of future immigration enforcement.

Will the Republican-controlled House also capitulate to the amnesty coalition led by big-business?

We’ll see.

On the other hand, the President of the American Farm Bureau writes that the Senate Immigration Bill is an important step for agriculture, which is Georgia’s largest industry.

“America’s farmers and ranchers depend on the workers who show up every day to tend crops and raise livestock. The Senate-passed bill will help ensure an adequate supply of farm labor. It also provides increased surveillance of high-risk areas along our borders. One of the best ways to improve border security is to create a legal, workable way for farm workers to enter our country. With less time and resources wasted locking up lettuce harvesters, the focus can shift to where it properly belongs – keeping those with criminal intentions out of our country.

“The passing of S. 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 is the first step in reforming our broken immigration system and ensuring agriculture has access to a stable and legal workforce. We look forward to working with members in the House of Representative to pass responsible immigration reform legislation that includes an earned adjustment for experienced undocumented agricultural workers and a new, flexible guestworker program. It is critical that both chambers pass legislation that can be reconciled in conference and signed into law.”

116 new laws took effect yesterday

Walter Jones also writes about the new state laws passed by the Georgia General Assembly that went into effect on July 1st, including juvenile sentencing reform, “pill mill” legislation, changing the GPA required to keep the HOPE grant to technical schools back to 2.0 and a tax break to create and retain jobs in the aircraft repair industry.