Cross posted from Scaling Green, because I think this is highly relevant to Virginia (where Bill “ALEC” Howell is Speaker of the House, and where Dominion and other fossil fuel interests have bought and paid for our state government)

As we know, the billionaire Koch brothers and their fossil fuel allies have been waging relentless war against clean energy for years now. Yet, as this fascinating article in National Journal explains, while the Koch-funded group Americans for Prosperity (AFP) has seen some successes at the national level in fighting clean energy, they are larging striking out in the states.  Why is this the case?  A few key points from the National Journal article answer that question.

• …in statehouses nationwide-even those where Republicans are running the show-the GOP lacks the lockstep march on energy policy that is coming to define the national party. Certainly, a powerful faction working to undo the green-energy laws has swept through states over the past decade, but as in Kansas, their repeal efforts have repeatedly failed.”
• “Over the past two years, at least 40 bills aimed at weakening or repealing clean-energy mandates have been introduced in legislatures across the country, according to Colorado State University’s Center for the New Energy Economy. But not a single state has done away with its renewable-energy standard. Ohio came the closest when the GOP-controlled Legislature voted to freeze a mandate in May; but everywhere else, repeal bills have either been voted down or have died without getting a vote.”
• And Democrats are not to blame. Repeal is being thwarted by business-focused Republicans who are sticking up for the standards because they believe they create jobs. In Kansas and North Carolina, conservative lawmakers have voted against repeal-while Republicans in Minnesota and Nevada actually cast votes to strengthen clean-energy mandates last year.”
• “Why hasn’t AFP had greater success in the states?…state legislators-by definition-are more local in their focus, and that puts them face-to-face with renewable-energy projects in their districts. In many parts of the country, red states included, wind and solar energy are already big business. They’re not ExxonMobil or Koch Industries big, but they have lobbying muscle and business interests of their own, and that’s enough to make state lawmakers think twice before going against them, even if that means standing against AFP.”
• “Viewed as a slice of the nation’s economy, renewable energy’s share remains small…But in the state legislative districts where it’s produced, renewable energy is a big enough player to wield considerable clout.”
• “[AFP] isn’t throwing in the towel. The Koch empire, fresh from spending $100 million on the 2014 congressional midterm elections to help deliver the Senate into the hands of Republicans eager to unwind climate rules, is now pledging another run at the states’ renewable-energy standards.“
• “… despite more than two years of efforts led by AFP, both the mandates and the candidates who back them are safe. What worked in Washington has not worked in the states-even those in which AFP has had great success in other policy arenas.”

In sum, the National Journal article demonstrates that no matter how much money fossil fuel interests spend to attack clean energy, it’s difficult for them to win those battles due to wind and solar’s strong, bipartisan support across America.  Of course, that doesn’t mean the fossil fuel folks are going to give up, which means that cleantech must stay on top of this situation. Still, the bad news for the Koch brothers and their allies is that, with the clean energy industry growing by leaps and bounds, the political clout these industries wield will continue to grow as well. And the bottom line is that, even in “red states” like Kansas, politicians of all political stripes can clearly see which way the wind is blowing.

1. First and most obviously, this decision was wildly wrong on policy grounds, with the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in future tax revenues to Arlington County that would have been spurred by billions of dollars worth of streetcar-generated economic development. Those revenues could have been spent on “core services” like education and other important infrastructure, while helping to keep property tax rates among the lowest in the entire region. Now, that’s all gone, with nothing to replace it. Greeeeaaaat.

2. The decision essentially rewarded a campaign of lies and demagoguery waged by anti-streetcar forces. As this Greater Greater Washington commenter notes: “[Arlington County Board member and streetcar supporter Walter] Tejada’s anger is well placed. And its even more telling when [Arlington County Board Chair Jay Fisette] constantly (and rightly) responded to streetcar criticisms from prominent groups as misinformation. To give in basically admits that a constant stream of BS works. Unfortunately the streetcar isn’t the only example of this in our world but its one of the more blatant ones.”

3. The decision has seriously harmed relations among Board members. For starters, “The decision by Chairman Jay Fisette (D) and Vice Chairman Mary Hynes (D) to abandon the streetcar infuriated their longtime ally and fellow Democrat, J. Walter Tejada.” At the same time, “Three of the members” (that would be Tejada, Fisette and Hynes) “are accusing the two others” (John Vihstadt and Libby Garvey) “of spreading misinformation.” And they are correct, of course. The question is, how can a working relationship, based on any level of trust whatsoever, be rebuilt out of the rubble of this debacle? Got me.

4. The decision to ditch the streetcar left Columbia Pike businesses and residents who had made investments and other plans based on a rock-solid promise from Arlington County that the streetcar was coming are now left high and dry. As the Post article reports, “Inta Malis, an Arlington planning commissioner, said retailers on Columbia Pike have been operating at a loss, banking on future revenue that would come with a revitalized, streetcar-anchored corridor.” So now what happens? Does anyone have a plan, now that the methodical, painstaking 15-year planning process was just tossed to the curb by Jay Fisette and Mary Hynes? I strongly doubt it. And no, Vihstadt and Garvey were never serious about “BRT,” since that’s not possible on Columbia Pike.  

5. The summary manner in which the 15-year planning process for Columbia Pike and Crystal City’s futures was ditched makes an utter mockery of the “Arlington Way,” and of Arlington County’s reliability for local/regional/state partners pretty much for anything. To paraphrase what a super-smart local Democrat said recently in an email, this sudden, unilateral decision shocked and even angered supporters of the streetcar project, many of whom had worked hard on this for many years. Yet, with the abrupt announcement the other day by Arlington County Board Chair Jay Fisette, essentially decades of community planning were simply tossed aside. So much for Arlington’s supposedly progressive planning model? It sure feels like that’s now in ruins. Furthermore, after this fiasco, how can the public have any confidence whatsoever in Arlington’s planning process on anything else going forward?  I have no idea.

5a. Further elaborating on point #4, announcing the cancellation of such an important project, one that took so many years to develop, in a unilateral, surprise manner, with apparently no discussion or outreach, is simply not acceptable. Nor is it professional. Nor is it consistent with the “Arlington Way.”  Nor does it bode well for the future.

7. In a way, this decision and the way it was carried out represent the worst of all worlds. On the one hand, some of the strongest supporters not just of this project, but of the Democrats on the County Board, feel betrayed, blindsided, you name it. Personally, I’m seriously questioning whether I can support Jay Fisette or Mary Hynes going forward. So are others, such as this Arlington County Democratic Committee precinct captain, who writes that the “uproar and eventual cancellation of the streetcar have shaken my confidence that Arlington is the place that I thought it was.”  Me too.

7a. While the abrupt, strange, bordering-in-bizarre cancellation announcement angered supporters of the streetcar, if anyone thinks this will mollify streetcar opponents, they’re dreaming (or smoking something, or dreaming of smoking something – heh). To the contrary, my bet is that Vihstadt et al now sense weakness and even ineptitude, and will press forward to complete their takeover of the County Board. Which, of course, would seriously harm all of Arlington on a wide variety of issues. We saw an example of that recently, when Republican (whoops, almost forgot, he keeps calling himself an “Independent”) Vishtadt voted…yes, like a Republican, against heretofore noncontroversial incentives for developers to incorporate “LEED” energy/environmental standards into their buildings. I’d expect a lot more of this type of behavior in the future, particularly if the Vihstadt crowd gains even more seats on the County Board. Ugh.

9. All of this has harmed the Arlington County Democratic Committee (ACDC), which for many years has been – rightly or wrongly – closely tied in people’s minds to the Democratic leadership on the County Board. Keep in mind that, at least until recently, ACDC had been consider the gold standard among Democratic committees in Virginia, and even in the country. Now, it’s hard to say what the future will hold for ACDC. Among other things, dysfunction and division in ACDC could harm efforts to rack up huge margins in Arlington County for Democratic statewide candidates, in 2016 and beyond (are you reading this Robby Mook?). Let’s hope that doesn’t come to pass, but the reverberations of this fiasco have only begun to be felt, with a potentially nasty 2015 ahead of us in Arlington Democratic politics, and with important decisions to be made regarding how ACDC will move forward with previous members who supported John Vihstadt in 2013/2014. Good luck.

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, November 28.

*Our giant welfare state (“When these are added to government’s direct payments, rankings shift. France remains at the top, but the United States vaults into second position with roughly 30 percent of its GDP spent on social services, including health care. We have a hybrid welfare state, partly run by the government and partly outsourced to private markets.”)

*Dehumanizing Ferguson (“By no means would I ever seek to excuse the arson, looting and senseless destruction that took place Monday night. But policing is something that should be done with a community, not to it. Officials were treating the people of Ferguson like a rabble long before the first police car was torched.”)

*New U.S. plan: ‘Leaner, meaner’ Iraqi force

*OPEC inaction sends Brent to four-year low, hits stocks (I think they’re trying, among other things, to damage Canadian tar sands, which require around $80-$85/barrel, and U.S. “tight oil,” which requires around $60-$65 per barrel, to break even.)

*Walmart Is Seeing Its Biggest Black Friday Protests Ever Today

*R-MC’s Trammell reflects on lessons of congressional campaign (“Start earlier. Raise more money. Be more aggressive” Well, since Trammell wasn’t in the slightest bit aggressive against Brat, that shouldn’t be hard.)

*Student action groups finding their voices at UVa

*Letter: Gas pipeline would sacrifice the needs of the many for the profit of the few

*Va. crime panel considers cigarette licensing

*Fairfax County police shot an unarmed man in his home and they won’t say why (They need to be much more forthcoming; why haven’t they been?!?)

*Ethics, baseball, taxes

*Dulles in trouble as traffic shifts to Reagan National (Silver Line to the rescue?)

*Arlington board tensions could hamper work after streetcar vote (“Fisette, Hynes and Tejada are openly frustrated with Garvey, whom they blame more than Vihstadt for spreading misinformation about the project.” I tend to agree, although I blame both of them.)

*A brisk shopping day today; weekend will take a turn for the warmer

Here’s the thing with Virginia State Senate Minority Leader Dick Saslaw: when he opens his mouth and words come out, there’s a high probability that at least some of those words will be (take your pick) stupid, wrong, offensive, bizarre, crazy, etc. In this instance, Saslaw spoke for several minutes at Monday’s meeting of the Falls Church City Council, and he had a LOT to say. That includes his tirade against UVA, with which I largely agree (we’ll call that one the “good Dick Saslaw”). It also includes the snippet I’ve included here, in which Falls Church City Council Member Dan Sze asks Saslaw about “net metering” (“allows residential and commercial customers who generate their own electricity from solar power to feed electricity they do not use back into the grid”) As Sze correctly points out, “Virginia ranks near the bottom in the United States for mechanisms to allow renewable energy to work.”

So what’s Dick Saslaw planning to do about this unacceptable situation? Why, absolutely nothing of course. To put the answer to that question in context, really all you need to know is that Dominion Virginia Power is Dick Saslaw’s top all-time donor, at $240,508, and that Dominion Virginia Power is one of the worst, most backward and reactionary utilities in the country when it comes to renewable energy. Also keep in mind that Dominion essentially owns the Virginia General Assembly, having donated over $9 MILLION over the years to Virginia Democrats and Republicans alike (yes, that’s your power bill at work, helping a powerful, polluting corporation buy our “democracy”).

Anyway, back to Dick “Dominion’s Puppet” Saslaw and how he responded (or more accurately, failed to respond, other than pathetic whining about how life’s so unfaiiiiiiir – waaaaaaah!!!) to the excellent question from Falls Church City Council member Dan Sze on net metering. First, the bought-and-paid-for “Bad Dick Saslaw,” who I’d remind everyone is actually/unbelievably the Democratic leader in the Virginia State Senate, goes on a bizarre, Cuccinelli-style rant against the EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan (CPP), in which he basically whines and spews out fossil fuel industry talking points. In fact, as this superb op-ed explains, with the CPP, we would reap “a $1.1 billion benefit to the Virginia economy before accounting for the economic benefits from the improved environment and health.” As an added bonus, the CPP “actually represents a significant business opportunity for Virginia to become a leading state in the areas of solar power, wind power, and energy efficiency.” More good news: “estimates are that energy efficiency alone could save Virginia households at least $517 million by 2020, and a lot more thereafter…allowing us to shut down antiquated, polluting power plants.” Last but not least, the CPP “will help protect our state against hundreds of billions of dollars – and untold lives – in potential climate devastation.”

Of course, Dominion puppet “Bad Dick Saslaw” ignores all this, along with Council Member Szu’s question (which, if you recall, was about net metering), while condescendingly asking, “you understand what I’m saying?” Council Member Szu’s response is priceless.

I understand completely, sir, but…the simple request is to allow municipalities like ours to be able to do net metering. It’s very simple. We want to work with Dominion to figure out how to [I believe he says “harness the resources of the sun”].

Good luck with that. As I wrote a few months ago, Dominion is one of the most “intransigent, obstinate, and unwilling” utilities in the country, one that apparently would rather die than adapt to a world in which renewable energy costs have plummeted, while the ability of consumers to partially or completely disconnect themselves from the power grid has soared (both trends are expected to continue and even accelerate in coming years). The bottom line is that Dominion is fighting a losing battle, and its bought-and-paid-for “allies” are doing it no favors by blocking and tackling for it. Instead, people like “Bad Dick Saslaw” should be using whatever influence they have on Dominion to persuade them to change course ASAP, for their own good and for the good of 8 million Virginians. The fact that “Bad Dick Saslaw” won’t do that is extremely revealing, and not in any good way.

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thanksgiving 2014.

*How to win Thanksgiving: Your guide to arguing with relatives (“It’s going to be especially hard to avoid politics at Thanksgiving this year. Here’s how you can defeat Uncle Dingo”)

*Here Is Everything That’s Wrong With Chuck Schumer’s Obamacare Comments (“Schumer’s notion that Obamacare only benefits those in the lower end of the economic spectrum is a flawed one. It is also in direct conflict with the Chuck Schumer of 2010, who campaigned incessantly for health care reform, and insisted that the policy ‘really did deliver for the middle-class.'”)

*GOP Mulls Not Inviting Obama to Give State of the Union (Yep, sounds like Republicans…petty and petulant as can be.)

*Darren Wilson And George Zimmerman Described Mike Brown and Trayvon Martin The Same Way (Hmmmmm…gee, wonder why that is.)

*Shadow Trial (“Prosecutors in Ferguson violated our right to an open criminal justice system.”)

*The Race to Be Hillary’s Karl Rove (“In a series of interviews with operatives inside and outside the Clinton orbit, most professional Democrats said the current favorite was Robby Mook, a well-traveled veteran at 35 who last served as the campaign manager for close Clinton friend Terry McAuliffe’s successful bid to become governor of Virginia in 2013.”)

*Warner, Kaine back DoD push to update protections in Military Lending Act

*For Rep. Dave Brat, a tricky balance (Yeah, he has to decide whether to focus on being crazy or extreme. Heh.)

*Va. Attorney General still paying off campaign debt (“Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring is still paying off campaign debt related to last year’s recount effort, while his political spending after nearly a year in office outpaces those of other possible 2017 gubernatorial candidates.”)

*University of Virginia Students Speak Out in Wake of Rape Allegations, Fraternity Closings

*Saslaw bill would make colleges report sexual assaults to police (Thanks for giving Blue Virginia credit for breaking this story. Next time, maybe you could actually link?)

*University Of Virginia Apologizes To Student Who Says She Was Gang-Raped

*Appalachian Power ordered to refund about $5.8 million to customers

*Proposal targets Virginia Beach’s TowneBank investments

*Loudoun will be home to mid-Atlantic’s first commercial hops facility

*RGIII’s rise and fall took less than three seasons

*From owner to coach to quarterback, the common theme in Washington is desperation

*A chilly Thanksgiving, with a slight chance of rain or snow

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, November 26.

*‘Better night’ in Ferguson though dozens arrested

*Inconsistency only constant with case

*Officer Darren Wilson’s story is unbelievable. Literally.

*Congress Poised To Eliminate Key Tax Breaks For Middle Class, Provide Permanent Tax Breaks For Corporations (Sounds like veto material to me.)

*Obama Threatens to Veto $440 Billion Tax Deal (“The president would veto the proposed deal because it would provide permanent tax breaks to help well-connected corporations while neglecting working families.” Bingo. Also, so much for Republicans caring about the debt!)

*How sexual abusers hide in plain sight: What Rolling Stone’s blockbuster UVA rape exposé really tells us (“…we clearly haven’t learned enough to consider rape enough of a crime to, you know, matter, especially when the big business of media and higher education is at stake.”)

*Jindal to keynote Va. GOP’s Advance (How appropriate! LOL)

*Powhatan senator Watkins won’t run again in 2015 (“His departure could create an opening in the 2015 legislative elections for Democrats, who in the past three statewide elections have carried his district, which includes parts of Chesterfield and Powhatan counties and the city of Richmond.”)

*Fresh from narrow re-election win, Warner sets sights on U.S. debt

*Speculation builds ahead of McAuliffe’s visit to N.H. (“The Virginia governor will address a state Democratic Party meeting and headline a fundraiser next month.”)

*Attorney General Herring appoints counsel for UVa board on sexual assault policies

*Letter: College students support federal carbon reduction standard for Virginia

*Nov. 26 Letters: Sen. Kaine on Keystone XL Pipeline (“…we need to send the market signal that cleaner energy is the path forward. We need to be cleaner tomorrow than today.”)

*U-Va.’s governing board votes for zero tolerance of sexual assault

*The UVA Gang Rape Allegations Are Awful, Horrifying, and Not Shocking at All

*Fairfax County facing budget shortfall, officials say

*Hampton Roads reacts to Ferguson unrest

*Editorial: Hanover Schools – Eeek (“Never let it be said that residents of Hanover are not vigilant. Some of them stand ready to clutch their pearls and swoon at the first sight of peril – real or imagined.”)

*Poorly timed rain and snowfall complicates Thanksgiving travel