Western Steward Quarterly

a publication of WESTERN TRADITION PARTNERSHIP

Volume 1, Issue 1 Winter 2010 “Rediscovering America’s Treasures”

WTP grows nationally, to become

American Tradition Partnership
Name change reflects group’s nation-wide expansion, new federal fights
ATP rapidly growing, earning
reputation in D.C. and across
the country as nation’s most
effective grassroots advocate
WASHINGTON -- Over the next
several months, WTP will be transi-
tioning to a new name -- American
Tradition Partnership – to reflect
growing national involvement.
“American Tradition Partnership
better reflects our rapidly growing
membership, our expanding nation-
wide reach and our aggressive efforts
on Capitol Hill beginning in 2011,”
said Executive Director Donald Fer-
guson. “Western Tradition Partner-
ship will continue to run state-level
efforts in our key states, but ATP will
be the ‘tip of the spear.’” Despite his party losing control of the House of Representatives over his Cap
ATP’s new Web site can be found and Tax bill, Obama’s radical green agenda still has life on Capitol Hill. New
at www.americantradition.org. ATP Speaker John Boehner has appointed a loyal crony of Big Green to chair the
can be followed on Twitter at @ House Energy and Commerce Committee, and a proposed bill stripping the
ATPAmerica. ATP also maintains EPA of unchecked power faces many obstacles in the GOP-run House.
a Facebook presence that can be
found by searching for “American
Tradition Partnership.”
Table of Contents
ATP will lead the fight in 2011 WTP is now American Tradition Partnership Page 1
against federal Cap and Tax legisla-
tion, which Obama has promised to
bring back “in chunks.” The group
ATP members, allies, kill Cap and Tax...for now, Page 2
will also fight for a recorded vote on
a new law stripping the EPA and Radical environmentalists take election beating, Pages 3
other agencies of their unchecked,
unaccountable authority to invent ATP seeks vote on bill stripping EPA of authority, Page 5
and impose wide-reaching regula-
tions. Obama is looking at using the
EPA’s regulatory authority to en- 2010 sees success in Colorado, Montana, other states Page 7
force Cap and Tax even if Congress
rejects it. -WSQ
Big Green rages as ATP members block
Cap and Tax lame duck scheme Green
Schemes
Your update on the latest scams,
frauds and hoaxes perpetrated by the
radical green movement.

PELOSI’S ‘GREEN’ FORKS

LEAD TO FRUSTRATION,
MORE WASTE

Doug Mataconis’ “Outside

The Beltway” points us to a
Washington Post story on Re-
publican efforts to “un-green”
(the Post’s editorialization) of
the Capitol. When Democrats
took the House majority in 2006,
Barack Obama and the multi-billion dollar Big Green lobby made passage of Cap
Speaker Nancy Pelosi unleashed
and Tax a top priority. Backed by big businesses who wanted to price out com- a green tidal wave of largely
petitors, the bill passed the House in June 2009, but ran into a roadblock of symbolic, often expensive, ef-
ATP petitions and phone calls. Many House members who voted for the bill lost
in the midterm elections and rhe bill died in the Senate’s lame duck session.
forts to “green” the Capitol.
While most led to bickering
WASHINGTON -- You did it. to every ATP member and supporter and complaints from House
Cap and Tax legislation, promoted -who signed the petitions, made the
staffers, one change in par-
by Obama, passed by the Pelosi-run phone calls and donated the contribu-
ticular drew howls of protest
House last year and predicted to pass tions that made this possible.”
in the Senate quietly died as the 111th The House passed so-called “cap — Pelosi’s decision to replace
Congress left Washington without and trade” legislation in June 2009, the utensils in House cafeterias
sending the bill to President Barack and the measure was expected to with “green,” “biodegradable”
Obama for his signature. quickly pass in the Senate. forks, knives and spoons.
The tidal wave of “No Cap and Tax” Many major businesses supported The Post reports: “Since bio-
petitions that swamped Capitol Hill the price-hiking, job-killing tax be- degradable utensils were intro-
spooked senators out of voting on the cause they knew while the resulting duced in House-side eateries,
House-passed legislation and scared economic chaos would damage their lawmakers, aides and even a
House lawmakers from inserting the profits, it would eliminate their com- few reporters have grumbled
bill’s language into a conference com- petitors. Legislators sat down with that – Earth-friendly or not –
mittee compromise on Senate energy Big Business and Big Green to push the forks break and the knives
legislation. ATP members and allies the bill through the Senate. don’t cut very well. Republican
also ensured many House members “The Big Green-Big Business alli-
leaders could easily earn bipar-
who voted for the bill and senators who ance is one of the dirty secrets of the
backed it saw their congressional ca- multi-billion dollar radical green lob-
tisan goodwill simply by finding
reers end over the legislation. by. Many major corporations support stronger utensils.”
“This is a huge win for employers the radical green agenda because they Staffers must use multiple
and consumers. A job-slaughtering can afford to lose billions of dollars in forks to finish a meal. That not
national energy tax crashed and revenue and tens of thousands of em- only drives up operating costs
burned because thousands of ATP ployees because they know their com- through the roof, it leads to an
members and supporters buried petitors can’t,” said Ferguson. increase in the amount of gar-
the Capitol in NoCapandTax.com “That’s why we can’t always rely on bage in landfills — precisely
petitions and lit up congressional employers to stop Big Green. It’s up what “green forks” are sup-
phone lines,” said American Tradi- to grassroots groups like American posed to stop through some sort
tion Partnership Executive Direc- Tradition Partnership, and this time of magical incantation.
tor Donald Ferguson. “Thank you our supporters delivered.” -WSQ

2 Western Steward Quarterly Winter 2011

Big Green drilled in elections
Politicians on ATP’s ‘CapAndTraitors.org’ bear the brunt of voter outrage

Rep. Harry Teague (D-CO) was one of the 43 House Democrats to vote for the Cap and Tax national energy tax,
and lose their seat over it. WTP put stopping Cap and Tax at the top of its 2010 agenda, mailing thousands
of residents in districts like Teague’s before the election.
WASHINGTON -- The decision by dents in both districts informing the- gan Griffith, the Republican vic-
President Barack and House Speaker mof their representative’s job-killing, tor in that race, told the Journal.
Nancy Pelosi to push ahead with a price-hiking vote in favor of the na- “They couldn’t believe [Boucher]
Cap and Tax national energy tax last tional energy tax. would vote against coal.”
year changed the political climate, In all, fourteen representatives Senate icons lose seats
with many Big Green-controlled poli- who voted for the bill were fea- over Cap and Tax
ticians finding they couldn’t survive tured on WTP’s CapandTraitors. Cap and Tax also factored in Sen-
in the new environment. org Web site. Eleven of them, ate races. Despite immense approval
Passage of the bill in June 2009, including Markey and Teague, ratings in his state, the Senate cam-
over the loud objections of American lost their re-election bids. paign of West Virginia Gov. Joe Man-
Tradition Partership members and No seat was safe from Cap chin went into free-fall when Repub-
allies, proved to be a major factor in and Tax opposition licans attacked him for potentially
the largest midterm election losses by Also among the upset losses was supporting the bill. Manchin trailed
a political party since 1938. Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA,) who was in polls, until his campaign released a
In all, at least forty-three Demo- picked to lead the floor fight for the television ad featuring the Democrat
crats who voted for Cap and Tax in Cap and Tax bill because he was con- pointing a hunting rifle at the bill and
June 2009 either passed on seek- sidered to be in a safe seat. literally shooting it to pieces.
ing re-election or were defeated “The cap-and-trade bill has been Others did not fare as well. Despite
by Republicans. That makes enormously unpopular in places like the Senate never voting on the bill
up two-thirds of the House seats the 9th district because it appears— thanks to an outpouring of opposition
Democrats lost in 2010. like it or not—to be anti-coal,” Larry from WTP members, senators who
WTP targets suffer heavy Sabato, director of the University voiced support for Cap and Tax went
losses of Virginia Center for Politics, told down to defeat in November,
Among them were Reps. Betsy Mar- The Wall Street Journal. Thirty-year incumbent Sen. Arlen
key (D-CO) and Harry Teague (D- “I think the vote on cap and trade Specter (D-PA) and Sen. Russ Fein-
NM.) WTP mailed thousands of resi- shocked them,” State Rep. Mor- (See ‘Mid-terms,’ Page Four)
Western Steward Quarterly 3
 Mid-term elections
bring clear-cutting of
Big Green politicians
(Continued from Page Three)
gold (D-WI,) who was once considered
a lock for re-election, could not over-
come statements in support of the
bill. Cap and Tax figured strongly in
their surprising defeats.
Other failed Big Green federal can-
didates, like Kentucky Republican
primary candidate Trey Grayson,
even went so far as to blame ATP
for their defeat and attacked the
group publicly.
“2010 proved one thing to Wash-
ington politicians – it does not mat-
ter how high your approval rating
are or how many millions of dollars
Big Green funnels into your race.
Any politician who votes for the
Big Green agenda will be held ac-
countable,” said WTP Executive Di-
rector Donald Ferguson. GARNER, NC -- While West-
Losses, ATP members force
retreat on Cap and Tax
Losses were so heavy, Demo-
crat leadership dropped their an-
nounced plans to insert “the full-
blown cap and trade program”
into the Senate energy bill during
a conference committee. come the nation’s premiere think
Announced plans to pursue a
nation-wide expensive energy man-
date, where consumers are forced
by law to purchase a set amount
of their electricity from wind and
solar speculators, are also fac-
ing uncertain prospects. -WSQ
Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) was
haunted by his past support of
Cap and Tax, which spooked blue-
collar Democrats out of supporting
his campaign. His 30-year Senate
career ended in a primary loss.
4 Western Steward Quarterly
American Tradition Partnership
launches American Tradition
Institute think tank
New group will battle Big Green in the ‘war of ideas’
Noted climate scholar Paul Chesser leads the new American Tradition Institute.
Energy Mandate, the ATI study
ern Tradition Partnership battles will be a major force in the national
Big Green in Congress and state debate on energy policy.
legislatures, the new American Noted scholar Chesser
Tradition Institute think tank is tapped to head up ATI
battling radical environmental- ATI is led by Executive Director
ist junk science head-on. Paul Chesser, a noted environ-
The new organization will be- mental policy scholar with the
Heartland Institute, the Common-
tank on responsible environmental wealth Foundation, the National
policy and accurate, scientifical- Legal and Policy Center and Cli-
ly correct climate science. mate Strategies Watch.
ATI blows lid off Expen- Chesser’s articles have appeared
sive Energy Mandates in newspapers across the coun-
And ATI is hitting the ground try, including The Washington
running, conducting a break- Post, The Washington Times,
through study on the impacts of Washington Examiner, and the
Expensive Energy Mandates. Ex- San Francisco Examiner.
pensive Energy Mandates are His work has also appeared
laws forcing utilities to purchase a in National Review Online, The
specific percentage of their power Weekly Standard Online, Ameri-
from higher-priced, less-reliable can Spectator, and WORLD maga-
wind and solar speculators. zine. He is a regular contributor
No organization has ever conduct- and blogger for American Spec-
ed a study of how Expensive Energy tator Online and for the Cool-
Mandates jack up utility prices on er Heads Coalition blog.
a state-by-state basis. With radi- Chesser has also appeared on
cal environmentalists pressuring NBC’s “The Today Show,” and
more and more states to adopt Ex- as a talk radio guest on sta-
pensive Energy Mandates, and Con- tions across the country.
gress and Obama’s EPA consider- ATI’s website can be found at
ing imposing a National Expensive www.wtinstitute.org. -WSQ
Winter 2011
 ATP looks to put the
‘REINS’ on Obama, EPA
Recorded vote sought on bill stripping unelected bureaucrats of unchecked rulemaking power
the door for a long-promised “Plan
B” by the Obama administration.
Obama’s EPA plans to take radi-
cal restrictions on economic activity
and simply enforce them as though
they were law under a proposal
to “cut carbon emissions.”
“The Obama administration in-
troduced the regulation, known
as the ‘tailoring rule,’ on May
13 as a hedge against Con-
gress’ failure to pass a cap-and-
trade bill, Newsmax reports.
“Let’s keep in mind the presi-
dent is doing this because he
doesn’t have the votes to do
this in the House and the Sen-
ate,” Inhofe tells Newsmax.
“The Obama administration has
again reminded Washington that,
if Congress won’t legislate, the EPA
will regulate,” Kerry said then.
“Those who have spent years stalling
Under a plan hatched in the background by the Obama administration,
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson will take much of the Cap and Tax bill rejected need to understand: Killing a Senate
by Congress, declare it to be a federal regulation and begin enforcing it bill is no longer an option.”
despite the fact Congress did not approve the measure. ATP seeks recorded vote
“We will accept nothing short of a
WASHINGTON -- Federal agencies, used to enact legislation defeated by
recorded vote on the bill,” said Fer-
like the EPA, would no longer have our elected lawmakers. Big Green
guson. “Congressional leadership
the authority to issue major regula- loves it because they can use their
may fight us, but Americans deserve
tions without the approval of Con- entrenched bureaucratic army to
to know, on the record, whether or
gress under a bill American Tradition grab power when they lose in Con-
not their elected representative be-
Partnership will seek a recorded vote gress. The EPA’s unchecked, unac-
lieves your rights and property can
on in the next Congress. countable power forces us to fight on
be taken from you by an unelected
The move would block an attempt two fronts on every issue.”
bureaucrat. This isn’t about just
by Barack Obama to use federal The legislation has been known in
stopping radical activists from grab-
regulators to impose radical envi- the past as the “REINS Act” (Regu-
bing power, it’s about preserving the
ronmentalist initiatives like Cap lations From the Executive in Need
founding ideal of this nation.” -WSQ
and Tax even after they have been of Scrutiny.) ATP staff are still talk-
struck down by Congress. ing with lawmakers about who will
“No regulation without representa- introduce the bill. Sen. Jim DeMint
tion,” said ATP Executive Director (R-SC) sponsored the bill in the “The Obama administration
Donald Ferguson. “In a constitution- last session of the Senate. has again reminded
al republic, unaccountable and un- Bill needed to stop EPA Washington that, if Congress
elected bureaucrats should not have ‘Cap and Tax’ power grab won’t legislate, the EPA will
the power to make up their own laws The bill is a top priority, as the regulate.” -- Sen. John Kerry
and impose them on people.” defeat of Cap and Tax in the lame (D-MA)
“That’s especially true when the duck session of Congress opened
regulatory system is now being
Western Steward Quarterly 5
 White House, UN delegates plot
global Cap and Tax slush fund
CANCUN, MEXICO -- White OBAMA USING UN RULES
House negotiators joined United Na- TO IMPOSE CAP & TAX
tions delegates in Cancun, Mexico Obama announced several weeks
in December for a “global warm- earlier he was going to do this.
ing” conference to set internation- “Cap-and-trade was just one way of
al rules capping economic activ- skinning the cat; it was not the only
ity that emits carbon dioxide. way,” growled Obama last month,
Advocates of the “man-made global less than 24 hours after Democrats
warming” conspiracy met among re- lost control of the House. “I’m go-
cord low temperatures in Cancun, ing to be looking for other means
arriving via luxury flights and meet- to address this problem.”
ing in heated and air-conditioned Those “other means” Obama
warehouses before telling power- promises to unleash are his Big
less citizens they need to lower their Green footsoldiers in the EPA.
standard of living to prevent the If Congress won’t pass Cap and Tax President Barack Obama prepares for
planet from overheating. into law next year, which the Obama- a Sept. 2009 speech to the UN General
“A year after U.N.-led talks all but brokered Cancun agreement now Assembly, where he blamed the U.S. for
collapsed in Copenhagen, delegates tasks the US with and which Obama destroying the planet and vowed to seek
from countries large and small signed has promised to try “in chunks” he
a global Cap and Tax plan.
off on a package of low-hanging fruit plans to have his federally-autho- brigade. In 2009, during a hear-
that includes establishing...a $100 rized EPA cronies whip out a piece of ing of the Subcommittee on Energy
billion fund to help the world’s most paper declaring Cap and Tax the law and Environment, he said ‘I have
vulnerable cope with a changing cli- of the land, via regulation. said at nearly every climate change
mate,” POLITICO reports. hearing that for me I don’t dispute
BIG GREEN STILL
The agreement also tasks the UN the science. Right or wrong, the
with developing harsh, international- CONTROLS DC AGENDA
Stopping the Obama/UN plan debate over the modeling and sci-
ly-enforced rules punishing the Unit- ence appears to be over.’”
ed States for emitting carbon dioxide, will be difficult, as Big Green cro-
and pressuring the U.S. into adopt- nies like House Energy and Com- ATP SEEKS STOP TO
ing the Kyoto Protocol forcing the na- merce Committee Chairman OBAMA UN PLAN
tion to downscale its economy. Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) still con- American Tradition Partner-
“There’s no doubt that next year’s trol the agenda in Washington. ship looks to stop the Obama/UN
conference, and the strong-arm tac- Kerry Picket of The Washington Times’ plan by first stopping Obama ad-
tics to sign onto the Kyoto Protocol, “Water Cooler” blog reports: ministration plans to have the EPA
are serious threats,” said Western “Mr. Upton’s voting record on fi- declare Cap and Tax as a new reg-
Tradition Partnership Executive Di- nancial, energy, and social issues are ulation in order to meet UN-man-
rector Donald Ferguson. liberal to say the least and conserva- dated anti-carbon rules.
“But right now we’re faced with tive activists are concerned Mr. Boeh- ATP will also introduce and seek
the immediate threat of Obama ner may very well give Rep. Upton a a recorded vote on a new federal law
using UN mandates as an excuse pass. Congressman Upton, in a last stripping the EPA and other agencies
to have the EPA enforce the de- ditch attempt to appeal to conserva- from simply making up their own
feated Cap and Tax bill.” tives, has already ‘pledged’ a number regulations. The vote will expose
“’What we have now is a text that, of agenda items he would stick to if which lawmakers are in the cash-
while not perfect, is certainly a good he became chair, but his past liberal stuffed pocket of Big Green.
basis for moving forward,’’Todd legislative actions are too vast to ig- “Just as we had to fight to de-
Stern, the top U.S. climate offi- nore. Glossing over such decisions on feat Cap and Tax in Congress, we
cial, said during the all-night bar- the congressman made would be ir- now have to fight the UN’s Cap and
gaining session that culminated responsible and tantamount to busi- Tax at the global level and Obama’s
in approval of what’s known as ness as usual on Capitol Hill... scheme to use the threat of those
the Cancun Agreement.” “...Rep. Upton was also part of the global rules to have the EPA im-
‘global warming is settled science’ pose this failed scheme,” said
6 Western Steward Quarterly Winter 2011
 WTP: In Your State
Montana Colorado by driving up utility costs.
Sensing trouble as she was bombard-
ed with phone calls from angry citi-
zens, Schwartz melted down.
She drew national news by
holding a press conference denounc-
Environmentalists take a LCV-endorsed candidates ing WTP and demanding government
beating in 2010 races action against the group for public-
struggle in Colorado ly discussing her record.
DENVER, CO -- Western Tradition In a year in which a weak gu- What should have been a safe re-
Partnership aggressively worked to bernatorial candidate and aggres- election deteriorated into a 51%-49%
inform citizens in Montana, Colo- sive efforts by national Demo- squeaker in a year in which oth-
rado and other states which candi- crats to save Senator Michael er Democrats beat trends.
dates in the 2010 elections stood for Bennet led to underperformance by WTP, which still continues to con-
jobs and development, and which Colorado Republicans, candidates duct state lobbying, will work in the
were in the pocket of Big Green. who supported WTP’s program next Colorado General Assembly on
In Montana, Big Green took a beat- beat expectations in a state where legislation making energy affordable,
ing. In the 11 districts targeted by Big Green runs rampant. protecting jobs and property rights
WTP, all of which involved either an Colorado is somewhat unique and stopping efforts by Schwartz and
Big Green-controlled incumbent or in that “election day” ac- other liberals to use government force
favored challenger, the pro-jobs can- tually runs for 30 days. to silence their opposition.
didate won 10 of the 11 races. Most voters cast their ballots early
For example, State Representa- by mail, and the state begins mail-
tive Wanda Grinde, running for a ing out ballots roughly 30 days before
fourth term and boasting the en- the November election.
dorsement of the League of Conser- Candidates endorsed by the League
vation Voters (for whom she spon- of Conservation Voters and other Big
sored several pieces of legislation,) Green groups struggled, with several
was defeated in an upset. losing in upsets and others only bare-
Grinde publicly blamed WTP for her ly surviving, despite performances
loss in an interview with the Helena by other Colorado Democrats that
Independent-Record, even though beat the national trend.
WTP does not advocate the election For example, State Senator Gail
or defeat of any candidate. Schwartz, a strident champion
Grinde mentioned no other groups of anything “green” and sponsor
or factors. of the state’s expensive energy
Since the introduction of WTP’s mandate law, was favored to win
program in 2008, the average in a district comprising reliably
League of Conservation Voters liberal Vail and Aspen.
score of a Montana state senator WTP sent just one mailing into the
has plunged nine points. district when ballots first hit, but it
Furious over his diminishing con- clearly got her attention.
trol over legislators, Governor Brian The mailing morphed Schwartz’s
Schweitzer’s administration has face onto the hair and body of Don-
declared stopping WTP to be one of ald Trump. Using cutting-edge
their priorities. His Attorney Gen- printing technology to put each in-
eral and Office of Political Practices dividual recipient’s name into the
filed false charges against WTP, photo of a mass mailing inform-
This WTP mailing enraged Colorado State
Sen. Gail Schwartz (D-Snowmass,) spon-
drawing multiple lawsuits. ing them “You’re Fired.” sor of the state’s Expensive Energy Man-
Along with Schweitzer, the The piece explained how Schwartz’s date. After barely surviving re-election
LCV is now dedicating exten- expensive energy mandate will in a liberal district, Schwartz demands
sive resources to falsely at- eventually eliminate hundreds
the government silence WTP for inform-
ing voters of her radical record.
tacking WTP in the media. of thousands of Colorado jobs
Western Steward Quarterly 7
 Western Tradition Partnership

Western 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

#186
Washington, D.C. 20006

Steward
Quarterly
www.WesternTradition.org

2020 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

#186
Washington, D.C. 20006

PO Box 88
Denver, CO 80201

1-888-987-USA1

“Western Steward Quarterly” is a

quarterly publication of
Western Tradition Partnership.

Permission granted in advance to

reproduce or quote with proper
acknowledgement.

Your 2010 “Watermelon Award” Winners

Honoring politicians and officials who are “green on the outside, but red on the inside.”
Loudoun County (Va.) Supervisor Stevens Miller (D-Dulles)
* For attempting to ram down resident’s throats a scientifically-debunked plan imposing massive fee hikes
and total government control over property on much of the county’s private homes and businesses

Colorado State Senator Evie Hudak (D-19)

* For voting with the radical anti-jobs Colorado Conservation Voters 100% of the time, with no questions
asked. Hudak’s votes destroyed Colorado jobs, devastated families and will send prices skyrocketing.

New U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI)
* For voting with the so-called “Conservation Voters” on 83 major issues to explode the power of govern-
ment, seize private property, outlaw many forms of lighting and plumbing and eliminate millions of jobs on
government orders. The author of the bill outlawing incandescent lightbulbs, Upton will now use
Chairman’s gavel to hammer employers and pound out the orders of Big Green.

Montana State Rep. John Esp (R-61)

* For authoring FOUR DIFFERENT BILLS creating a “rancher’s death tax,” slapping
huge taxes on property owners who want to pass their ranches and farms on to their
children. Esp needs the wrongfully grabbed cash to finance his Big Government
vision, as he is rated one of the most fiscally reckless Republicans in Helena,
demanding an $86,806,418.00 explosion in tax spending...in just one session!
8 Western Steward Quarterly Winter 2011