ATP congratulates Gingrich on announcing his Democrat bid
D.C. insider's work with Pelosi and Gore, outspoken advocacy of radical environmentalism, will challenge Obama for liberal base
WASHINGTON -- American Tradition Partnership, the nation's largest grassroots opponent of radical environmentalism welcomed this week's news former House Speaker Newt Gingrich may make a Wednesday announcement of a presidential bid, noting his long record of support for the radical environmentalist agenda would make for a tight Democrat contest between he and President Barack Obama.
"American Tradition Partnership welcomes Newt Gingrich's entry into the Democrat presidential primary, where his decades-long record of radical 'green' activism will make for a close contest between he and President Obama for the liberal base," said American Tradition Partnership Executive Director Donald Ferguson. "As a paid operative of ethanol interests and an outspoken advocate of global regulatory regimes, redistribution of wealth, federal controls of private property, multi-billion dollar welfare programs for wind and solar and taxing Americans into what he calls 'environmental compliance,' Gingrich's entry into the Democrat race was a foregone conclusion."
"Gingrich's 2008 TV ad he recorded at the request of Al Gore, where he snuggles on a love seat with Nancy Pelosi and blames the American economy for so-called 'global warming' is the kind of manifesto that really speaks to radical environmentalists. And we all know how much environmentalists love issuing manifestos."
“American Tradition Partnership looks forward to taking our campaign of truth about Newt Gingrich to places like Iowa and New Hampshire. Voters have the right to know about the radical 'green' agenda of a D.C. insider who’s just Al Gore hiding under a Phil Donahue wig,” said Ferguson. "Newt Gingrich may try to paint himself Republican red, but his record is radical green."
The organization previously took aim at the former Speaker at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. The organization distributed thousands of “Power-Grabbing Newts” (a sticky gel lizard) and a list of 25 quotes from Gingrich’s books, “A Contract With The Earth,” Winning The Future” and “Real Change” calling for increased government power and taxation to seek what he calls “environmental compliance.” The list is reprinted below.
With a coveted speaking slot, exhibiting organization and book signing, hosting three panels and a reception and screening two films, Gingrich’s presence dominated that of other presumptive presidential candidates. CPAC looked to be a launching pad for a Gingrich presidential bid. Instead, the Republican powerhouse cratered after ATP informed voters of Gingrich’s long record of supporting massive tax hikes, increased government power and international regulatory regimes to enforce what he calls “environmental compliance.”
After the ATP program. Gingrich crashed to a disappointing fifth with just five percent of the vote in the annual CPAC Presidential Straw Poll. Gingrich finished 26 points out of first place.
ATP does not advocate the election or defeat of candidates. Supported by grassroots members, ATP is a fast-growing non-profit citizens’ group dedicated to fighting environmental extremism and promoting private property rights and responsible development and management of land, water, and natural resources.
I WAS A GREEN PUPPET WHEN IT WASN’T COOL: “When I first ran for Congress I was the natural candidate of most environmental groups…” Newt Gingrich, “Winning The Future,” Page 168
CREATE GLOBAL SPENDING REGIMES: “If the United States challenged Europe and Japan to join it in financing a world biodiversity refuge system and tied foreign aid into the process of maintaining biodiversity, we could probably save a very high percentage of the earth’s biological richness…” Newt Gingrich, “Winning The Future,” Pages 170-171
SPREAD THE WEALTH, TO GREENS: “The United States should support substantial research into climate change, managing the response to climate change, and in developing new non-carbon energy systems.” Newt Gingrich, “Winning The Future,” Page 171
PUT DC IN CONTROL: “The federal government should establish measurable standards for a healthy environment…” Newt Gingrich, “Winning The Future,” Page 172
CASH FOR CLUNKERS? MORE, PLEASE: “A tax credit to subsidize energy efficient cars (including a tax credit for turning in old and heavily polluting cars) is another idea we should support.” Newt Gingrich, “Winning The Future,” Page 174
INDOCTRINATE THEM YOUNG: “As a young professor at West Georgia College, I taught in the second Earth Day in 1971 and coordinated an interdisciplinary environmental studies program.” Newt Gingrich, “Real Change,” Page 196
NEWT ENDORSES ‘CASH FOR CLUNKERS,’ AGAIN: “There ought to be a tax break for trading in old cars that use a lot of petroleum and emit a lot of pollution.” Newt Gingrich, “Real Change,” Page 204
WE MUST PROTECT THE ESA “That is why I worked so diligently as Speaker of the House to protect the Endangered Species Act, historic legislation that has been mired in controversy…The Endangered Species Act is an excellent example of the value of civility, consultation and collaboration.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Pages XII & 51
THE EARTH NEEDS A GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER “Government, at all levels, should be a facilitator for entrepreneurial, private-sector innovations and the formation of private-public environmental partnerships.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 13
STOP THE CONSERVATIVES FROM LIMITING GOVERNMENT POWER “For that reason, we have supported its (the Endangered Species Act’s) continuation against all challenges by private citizens, interest groups, and congressional opponents.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 53
CREATE NEW GOVERNMENT SPENDING PROGRAMS “The U.S. government operates endowments for the humanities and the arts…Perhaps, it is time we consider a new endowment for conservation and the environment.” “Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Pages 115-116 [NOTE: As Speaker, Gingrich told conservatives he wanted to eliminate the wasteful National Endowment for the Arts. Now he cites it as an example of a government spending spree that needs to be duplicated.]
SPEND ‘SIGNIFICANT’ TAX MONEY IN THE U.S., AND AROUND THE WORLD “Significant resources should be set aside to protect hallowed sites such as the Galapagos Islands, the Virguna Volcanoes in Central Africa, and Georgia’s Okenfenokee Swamp, to name a few.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 117
MILITANT ENVIRONMENTALISM…LITERALLY? “John Muir, for most of his adult life, experienced nature in spiritual overtones…He even favored using the armed forces to enforce environmental law…However, with the inexorable advance of the urban realm, the defense of forested land assumes a greater urgency as we strive to sustain the highest-quality standards for our nation’s air, water, and land.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 127
HOORAY FOR RECORD-BREAKING SPENDING HIKES! “Our national parks and wildlife reserves require more vigorous protection. With an eye toward strengthening his environmental legacy in the 2007 federal budget, President Bush requested the largest increase for national park funding in our nation’s history. We should expect nothing less than excellence from our national park system.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Pages 130-131
ENVIRONMENTALISM, OUR GLOBAL RELIGION OF PEACE “Far from becoming a new source of global discord, environmentalism, which binds nations to a common concern, will be the best thing that’s ever happened to international relations.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Pages 149-150
GLOBAL GOVERNANCE IS THE SOLUTION “We will need to organize a series of high-level global conferences that focus on specific [environmental] problems…” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 158
GOVERNMENT IS THE ONLY SOURCE OF INNOVATION “…the type of arduous research that produces real breakthroughs can only be funded by astute governments.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 167
NEWT WANTS TO BRING BACK CARTER ENERGY POLICIES “America used to be that kind of government [that spent millions of tax dollars on “energy research” welfare programs,] but our commitments have wavered in recent years so government incentives for energy research will be issues in future political campaigns.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 167
NEWT LOVES THE UN’S KYOTO TREATY GLOBAL APPROACH “Mobilizing other countries to join us will not be as easy as it may appear. Many of the countries that signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol are lagging behind on their commitments.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 168
STOP CONSERVATIVE OPPOSITION TO THE ESA “The act [Endangered Species Act] has been, by any measure, a very successful guardian of wildlife and habitat and any attempt to weaken it should be resisted.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 170
NEWT INVENTS A NEW DISEASE ONLY ENVIRONMENTALISM CAN CURE “…our children, according to Louv, run the risk of acquiring ‘nature deficit disorder,’ a malady that he describes as a contributing factor to a recognized mental health construct, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. Nature deficit disorder, not yet acknowledged by scientists or clinicians, is a working hypothesis that Louv believes helps to explain the onset of ADHD, and he proposes that exposure to nature should be offered as a therapy for children who have difficulty attending to stimuli and learning in conventional classrooms. His call for research in this domain is compelling.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 182
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS SHOULD REDISTRIBUTE INCOME TO ‘STIMULATE’ GREEN COMPLIANCE “Local governments operate much closer to the origin of environmental problems, and they have begun to provide tax incentives and large cash rewards for environmental compliance…While the motivation is driven by the application of tax dollars, the effect is rewarding rather than punitive…” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 194
DON’T CUT GOVERNMENT, JUST MAKE IT NICER “…our government, at all levels, must be modernized to successfully partner, let alone compete, with the private sector.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 196
MAN-MADE CLIMATE CHANGE IS A FACT “We agree that there is plenty of evidence that global climate change is occurring…While humanity is certainly causing its fair share of the change, scientists are still not able to precisely pinpoint the extent of the change, or the margin of error in their estimates.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 200
GIVING TAX DOLLARS TO LIBERALS IS OUR ONLY HOPE “In spite of the demonstrated liberal leanings in academia, we have nothing but respect for the nation’s scientists. They represent America’s best hope to protect the environment. We support a dramatic increase in science and technology research and development because we desperately need to understand global climate change and other environmental phenomena.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 201
MOTHER EARTH NEEDS ALL YOUR INCOME “Needless to say, an appropriate and significant investment of public and private funding to renew the earth will pay dividends.” Newt Gingrich, “A Contract With The Earth,” Page 202
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