Steve’s Say…

We've Come a Long Way

The feeling that overcame me that Thursday afternoon was truly euphoric; when the State Senate recessed for the year without even bringing to the floor the big three legislative debacles that seemed almost sure to pass just a week prior – known in TEA Party circles as THE VOTER FRAUD BILL, DOYLE’S JOB KILLING GLOBAL WARMING BILL and the RTA THROW MILLIONS INTO THE BLACK HOLE TAX BILL. Believing that this Wisconsin Legislature had finally halted its high-speed rush over the cliff of economic suicide and complete dismantling of even the appearance of electoral integrity seemed impossible. Even Washington’s pace to destroy the private sector, dismantle constitutional government and implement widespread socialism throughout American society seemed paltry in comparison. I couldn’t believe it! They were finally listening to the people – or fearing them. I suppose there could be a third and more sinister possibility but who cares. We have stopped them. For now. What a great feeling!

Such a huge and complete victory of a hard-fought and bloody battle is a milestone of utmost importance. Its significance cannot be overstated. Reflection on the journey of how we got here can not only be fun to relive but very helpful in determining how we keep moving effectively forward and maybe even begin playing offense.

While always predisposed to the mindset of free markets, individual liberty, self reliance and American exceptionalism, my journey began in earnest when I attended a small meeting in Pewaukee, one snowy Saturday in November 2007. While attending an appearance of Newt Gingrich back in September, I signed up to become part of a group called Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a group which cost no money to join but kept you in the information loop via e-mail about all of the developments of current free enterprise thought. Why not? When they invited me to this meeting I thought, why not? Boy did my world change.

I met Mark Block for the first time, truly a man of action. Judge Gableman spoke there. He was subsequently elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, a huge victory for the conservative cause. And boy did we ever hear about it. I cornered Mark after the meeting to ask him what AFP was doing about the global warming nonsense. Being a chemist by education, having worked in the environmental field since 1986 in waste disposal and recycling and having studied and read much about geology, weather and planetary science ever since, I had followed the man-made-globalwarming- leading-to-catastrophe hypothesis since it’s inception. Mark indicated that they needed someone to head that up in Wisconsin so I said I’d do what I could. He convinced me to go to New York City in February of 2008 for the first International Conference on Climate Change. This conference proved to be the most worthwhile event I have ever attended in my life.

At this conference I met and listened to presentations from some of the most knowledgeable scientists in the world like Fred Singer, Dennis Avery, Patrick Michaels, Ferenc Miskolczi, William Gray, Roy Spencer, Howard Hayden and countless others. I met civil rights icon Roy Innis and some others who opened my eyes up to the political and economic consequences inherently embodied in the institution of this ideology. And most inspiring of all was the opportunity to hear a truly brave man of unparalleled courage address the group, the ONLY man in the world willing to stand up in front of the UN chamber delegation in September 2007 and speak out against the madness of the global warming hysteria and the massive catastrophe implementing such policies would have on the world. He stood alone. This man, the President of the Czech Republic at the time, Vaclav Klaus, I consider the bravest man alive. Any time I think something is too difficult, can’t be done or I feel I don’t have the strength to persevere, I think of what President Klaus did, and suddenly things don’t seem so hopeless or tough.

Since this first conference I have attended the two subsequent conferences, and will be attending the fourth in Chicago in two weeks. Each has been truly exciting, educational and inspiring. Seeing Lord Christopher Monckton and listening to him speak is worth it alone. Anyone wishing to learn more about the truth of this subject and what is really at stake should go. You will have a great time. I guarantee it.

So I have known for a long time the truth about the global warming hysteria, the truth about the scientific data, and the truth about the cabal hijacking the peer review process and temperature data sets. I also saw the courage of one Senator, James Inhofe, telling the truth as all real data supported, that it was all a scam, with no political support from anyone else. So when Climategate hit the world last November, Senator James Inhofe, Dr. Fred Singer and all others like myself were finally vindicated. Those dark days when all appeared hopeless, when no one cared to look at facts or real data sets, had vanished with the newly revealed documentation of the truth. I felt that same feeling of euphoria I felt the other day, the day the Senate went home without doing anything.

In fact, now that I think of it, I’ve had this euphoric feeling quite a bit lately. After that enormous downer of the election of Barack Hussein Obama in November, 2008 which caused many of us more than a few sleepless nights, things stared to change. I recall feeling it a little bit when Saxby Chambliss of Georgia won his run-off election to the senate to preserve one more Republican seat. I remember the first neighborhood meeting of the Conservative Insurgency Inauguration night, how we were being defiant and yet serious in our opposition to what was happening. I remember feeling it when I was in Hawaii and heard about all of the TEA Parties happening all across the country on April 15th, 2009. I remember a big dose of euphoria when Governor Chris Christie won in New Jersey and Bob McDonnell in Virginia, both promising to bring real fiscal change and reduction of government to both states. And I remember the tidal wave of euphoria when Scott Brown won the special election to replace the late Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts. What a great feeling that was!

So what does this all mean? It means that we are on the right path to something really big, something that can last. It also means that we are in this for life. These victories are big. And they really do feel good. And they really will help. Alot. But we also must understand that our opposition, though in the minority, are a tenacious bunch that embrace a radical ideology. They have been working on their agenda for a long, long time. They have patiently and systematically put the pieces in place to bring down the system from within. They have done mighty work. And they have done it right under our noses. Purging this embedded infrastructure and mindset may be next to impossible. But the knowledge of what we are fighting, why we must stop it and how we can effectively do so will allow us to experience many more feelings like the one the other day when the Senate went home. But one thing we must never lose sight of; this war of ideas has no end.