Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON D.C. While this years campaign has been marked by GOP attacks on President Obamas clean-energy policies exemplified by the failed solar company Solyndra and a fierce partisan fight over his EPAs efforts to tighten regulations on pollution from coal-fired power plants members of the Christian Coalition and the Young Republicans will launch a Young Conservatives for Energy Reform" initiative on Monday.
Its a grassroots group aimed at engaging Republicans on the goals of cutting oil use backing alternative energy and clean-air regulations and fighting climate change. The announcement comes less than a month after the rollout of a new conservative-run campaign and think tank the Energy & Enterprise Institute aimed at winning Republicans over to the idea of using the tax code to cut carbon pollution and fossil fuel use.
In a campaign season where energy and climate change have become partisan lightning rods a small but growing group of Republicans are pushing back against their partys orthodoxy on both issues.
Both groups have an uphill battle.
The 2010 congressional races saw a slew of super PAC attack ads against lawmakers who backed climate change policy. This year the presidential primaries saw moderate Republicans including presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romneywho had once pushed for climate and clean-energy policiesabandoning those positions and walking back his former acceptance of the science that says human activities cause climate change.
The fossil fuel industry is spending mightily to keep the GOP on its side: Of the $30 million the oil coal and gas industries have spent so far to influence the 2012 election cycle 88 percent has gone to Republican candidates according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Its in that atmosphere that the two cofounders of Young Conservatives for Energy Reform Michele Combs and Brian Smith hope to make a difference in their partys approach to energy. Both have rock-solid conservative bona fides.
Combs is communications director for the Christian Coalition of America which calls itself the nations largest conservative grassroots organization. Her mother Roberta Combs is the coalitions president. Growing up Combs was a leader in the Young Republicans she was elected Young Republican of the Year" in 1989. Before working for the Christian Coalition she ran a special-events company that produced events for Republican campaigns conventions and the George W. Bush inauguration.
Roberta Combs led a 2010 lobbying push by the Christian Coalition to push GOP lawmakers to act on climate change; Michele Combs says she was inspired to engage on clean-energy issues when she was pregnant and told she couldnt eat fish because they may be tainted with mercury which is emitted from coal-fired power plants.
Smith an Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran and former co-chair of the Young Republican National Federation Policy Committee is pursuing a joint degree in business administration and engineering at Northwestern University and worked on energy technology and security issues at Pentagon labs.
The pair wants to harness the resources and networks of the Christian Coalition and Young Republicans at events across the country to make the case to conservatives that they should back clean-energy and climate policies. Combs and Smith said theyll press the case by presenting alternative energy climate change and clean air as nonpartisan issues affecting families and national security.
The group intends to replicate the organizational model of the Young Republicans creating city regional and state chairmen.
We want to take this issue and make it not so partisan" Combs told National Journal last week. We believe this is a family issue. Im optimistic that we can make young conservatives comfortable talking about this. I think its possible to talk about this and not be labeled a heretic. For younger conservatives this is a lot more acceptable to talk about."
Added Smith: We want to make it safe for Republicans to debate climate change."
The group has already held events in Florida Ohio and South Carolina and plans further eventsrallies speeches roundtables and town hallsin New Hampshire and other 2012 battleground states.
The group hopes to work closely with Sen. Lindsey Graham R-S.C. who has strong ties to the Christian Coalition and who in 2010 teamed with Sens. John Kerry D-Mass. and Joe Lieberman ID-Conn. on a sweeping climate-change bill. But although Graham has frequently expressed the need to tackle energy and climate-change issues he pulled his support from the bill before it was introduced.
Smith said he doesnt expect the group to present specific climate and energy legislative proposals at least at the outset.
Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON D.C. While this years campaign has been marked by GOP attacks on President Obamas clean-energy policies exemplified by the failed solar company Solyndra and a fierce partisan fight over his EPAs efforts to tighten regulations on pollution from coal-fired power plants members of the Christian Coalition and the Young Republicans will launch a Young Conservatives for Energy Reform" initiative on Monday.
Its a grassroots group aimed at engaging Republicans on the goals of cutting oil use backing alternative energy and clean-air regulations and fighting climate change. The announcement comes less than a month after the rollout of a new conservative-run campaign and think tank the Energy & Enterprise Institute aimed at winning Republicans over to the idea of using the tax code to cut carbon pollution and fossil fuel use.
In a campaign season where energy and climate change have become partisan lightning rods a small but growing group of Republicans are pushing back against their partys orthodoxy on both issues.
Both groups have an uphill battle.
The 2010 congressional races saw a slew of super PAC attack ads against lawmakers who backed climate change policy. This year the presidential primaries saw moderate Republicans including presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romneywho had once pushed for climate and clean-energy policiesabandoning those positions and walking back his former acceptance of the science that says human activities cause climate change.
The fossil fuel industry is spending mightily to keep the GOP on its side: Of the $30 million the oil coal and gas industries have spent so far to influence the 2012 election cycle 88 percent has gone to Republican candidates according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Its in that atmosphere that the two cofounders of Young Conservatives for Energy Reform Michele Combs and Brian Smith hope to make a difference in their partys approach to energy. Both have rock-solid conservative bona fides.
Combs is communications director for the Christian Coalition of America which calls itself the nations largest conservative grassroots organization. Her mother Roberta Combs is the coalitions president. Growing up Combs was a leader in the Young Republicans she was elected Young Republican of the Year" in 1989. Before working for the Christian Coalition she ran a special-events company that produced events for Republican campaigns conventions and the George W. Bush inauguration.
Roberta Combs led a 2010 lobbying push by the Christian Coalition to push GOP lawmakers to act on climate change; Michele Combs says she was inspired to engage on clean-energy issues when she was pregnant and told she couldnt eat fish because they may be tainted with mercury which is emitted from coal-fired power plants.
Smith an Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran and former co-chair of the Young Republican National Federation Policy Committee is pursuing a joint degree in business administration and engineering at Northwestern University and worked on energy technology and security issues at Pentagon labs.
The pair wants to harness the resources and networks of the Christian Coalition and Young Republicans at events across the country to make the case to conservatives that they should back clean-energy and climate policies. Combs and Smith said theyll press the case by presenting alternative energy climate change and clean air as nonpartisan issues affecting families and national security.
The group intends to replicate the organizational model of the Young Republicans creating city regional and state chairmen.
We want to take this issue and make it not so partisan" Combs told National Journal last week. We believe this is a family issue. Im optimistic that we can make young conservatives comfortable talking about this. I think its possible to talk about this and not be labeled a heretic. For younger conservatives this is a lot more acceptable to talk about."
Added Smith: We want to make it safe for Republicans to debate climate change."
The group has already held events in Florida Ohio and South Carolina and plans further eventsrallies speeches roundtables and town hallsin New Hampshire and other 2012 battleground states.
The group hopes to work closely with Sen. Lindsey Graham R-S.C. who has strong ties to the Christian Coalition and who in 2010 teamed with Sens. John Kerry D-Mass. and Joe Lieberman ID-Conn. on a sweeping climate-change bill. But although Graham has frequently expressed the need to tackle energy and climate-change issues he pulled his support from the bill before it was introduced.
Smith said he doesnt expect the group to present specific climate and energy legislative proposals at least at the outset.
