Report From Hot Air Tour
Baton Rouge, LA
Just wrapped up a terrific Hot Air Tour event in Gonzales, La., right outside of Baton Rouge. Kids were enjoying rides as I left for the airport, after everyone listened to Senator Vitter speak about how outrageous the costs of cap-and-trade will be for Louisiana families, and how important it is to access American energy resources. Sen. Vitter signed the AFP No Climate Tax pledge on the spot when I handed it to him--making his commitment in writing to oppose any global warming bill that hides a tax hike.
After the crowd of over 150 enthusiastically thanked Sen. Vitter for his great stand against energy taxes, including cap-and-trade, I also gave them the phone numbers to call Sen. Landrieu's office and tell her that she needs to make the same commitment.
A man named Wayne told me he drove 120 miles for this event, and that the tea party in April was the first time in his life he went to a rally. As I told the local TV reporter, these Hot Air events and our health care events are a way to channel the energy of the tea parties into winning specific policy battles for the future of our country.
Our new friend Robin from the Baton Rouge Tea Party organization was handing out free copies of the U.S. Constitution and told the crowd about upcoming tea party events nearby. Local organizer Ellen Carmichael made sure everything went smoothly along with our great AFP staff of Katie Engdahl, Mary Ellen Burke, Chris Bond, and Tommy Downs.
After last night's Shreveport stop and this morning's in Baton Rouge, I believe that if Sen. Landrieu listens to her constituents she cannot possibly support cap-and-trade. Louisianans understand how important energy is to everything else in the American economy, and how crazy it would to be to force higher energy prices during this economic downturn. If the public stays engaged, perhaps they can convince Sen Landrieu to rally Democratic senators against this energy tax, the same way Sen. John Breaux did against the Clinton/Gore energy tax in 1993.
$255,105.00
