Mediaboss Marketing

A tea party leader and a conservative state lawmaker are behind a petition tomakesolar panels more profitable in Florida, reports Ivan Penn ofthe Tampa Bay Times. The group is collecting signatures to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would allow residents to sell electricity generated from the sundirectly totheir neighbors,tenants and friends, instead of giving the utilities a cut.

For conservatives, solar power is a chance to put an end to state-regulated monopolies in electricity and create an opportunity for investment for every homeowner.

Costs in the solar industry have been falling steadily, andutilities are rightly worried about disruption. People who buy solar panels are buying less electricity from utilities, which in turnmustmaintain power lines and operate plantswith less money.Eventually, theymight have to raise rates, making solar power even more attractive. This possibility ledthe hemp-wearinghippies working at Barclays downgraded the debt of the U.S. power sector last year. (In defense of the utilities,opposition to solar power isn't just aboutprofits. Until solar power can be cheaply stored and delivered on demand, consumers will expect utilitiesto be readytoprovideelectricity at night andon cloudy days.)

Penn spoke withDebbie Dooley, atea party advocate who has also been organizingfor solar power in neighboring Georgia:

Dooley said the reason the solar efforts have been successful in Republican-dominated areas is that opening up the free market and giving people choice is a core conservative principle.

"Conservatives will be out front on this to give Floridians choice and a voice," Dooley said. "All too often, the only voice that is heard is the voice of these very powerful and deep-pocketed monopoly utilities."

The price of electricity in Florida ischeaper than the national average, so maybethe state's tea partiers aren't making much money on their solar panels yet. Butwhile we're used to hearingRepublicans in Congressargue that climate changecould be beneficial, it's worth remembering that a surprisingly large minority of Republicans are environmentalists. Some 32 percentbelieve protecting the environment is more important than improving the economy, according to a Gallup poll conducted last year.

Welcome to Wonkbook. To subscribe by e-mail, clickhere. Send comments, criticism or ideas to Wonkbook at Washpost dot com. Follow Wonkblog onTwitterandFacebook.

What's in Wonkbook:1) "Strong" net neutrality 2) Opinions, including Yglesias on the employer mandate3) Fed worried about global growth4) 12 dead at Charlie Hebdo 5) Why you should get married, and more

Chartof the day:

Link:
Wonkblog: The tea party is pushing for solar power in Florida

So apparently, some tea party conservatives were not happy with Rep. Mia Love's (R-Utah) vote for John Boehner for House speaker. Her backing of House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) amid his scandal also rankled some on the right:

This is fromThe Shark Tank, a conservative blog:

The Twitter/blogger backlash prompted Love to weigh in on her vote. She explained her vote in an e-mail to theWashington Examiner:

There were no qualified or notable campaigns for speaker within the Republican Party other than John Boehner. Casting a vote for a candidate who has not actively campaigned and does not have the support to be speaker is an indirect vote for Nancy Pelosi, and I will not vote for Nancy Pelosi. There will be a time and a place for me to stand as a lone voice of dissension, but the vote for the speaker, is not that place. For me to be an effective congressman over the next two years it is important for me to be on the side of the elected speaker.

Love has dealt withthe tea party question since she ran in 2012. In that race,some tea party-style conservatives backed her primary opponent--among them, Utah Sen. Mike Lee (R). And astory by The Salt Lake Tribunedetailedhow the city's budget and property tax rate went up when she was mayor of Saratoga Springs.

At the same time, she did get an endorsement from FreedomWorks,a national tea party group,and was seen as a rising star.

In 2014, she nabbed the endorsement of the Tea Party Express. They cited her fiscal responsibility and opposition to the Affordable Care Act. Yet, at some point, during the race, she seemed toreject the tea party label,which again drew some scrutiny. Love said she wasn't rejecting the tea party, but rather the concept of labeling more broadly.

It's also true that Love's rhetoric from 2012 to 2014 changed a bit, even as her policy positions remained fairly constant. Her comments about the Congressional Black Caucus, for instance, were very strident in 2012 and less so in 2014. And she angered some conservatives when she questioned the tea party driven government shutdown in 2013 overObamacare.

And yet, it seems the "official" tea party (whatever that is) counts her as one of their own.

From a currentteaparty.org headline.

Follow this link:
How tea party is Mia Love?

On Tuesday, 25 Tea Party Republicans vote against their partys candidate for Speaker of the House, knowing that they would almost surely be unable to defeat John Boehner or elect a Speaker more to their liking?

Because they are crazies? Not necessarily. In fact, it could be a very smart move, from their point of view. It would provide a credible threat that if he brings a bi-partisan compromise to the floor that they and just a few other like-minded Republicans oppose, they would have sufficient votes to remove him as Speaker by a motion on the House floor to vacate the chair. It was just such a threat that prevented Boehner last term from bringing to the floor a number of bipartisan compromises, including immigration reform.

If House Democrats are interested in increasing the chances of such compromises and neutralizing the Tea Party threat, they can very easily. All that they would need to do is to sign a public letter to Boehner assuring him that they will provide whatever votes are necessary to defeat a motion to vacate the chair during this session of Congress. There is no need to negotiate with thespeaker or Republicans leadership on this strategy in fact, it would be better for Boehners relations with his caucus if they didnt. It would also play well with an American public looking for bi-partisan accomplishment.

Boehner, of course, would publicly dismiss the offer and declare that he needs no such help and intends to preside with the full support of his party's caucus. Privately, he will appreciate the help and relish the irony.

Steven Pearlstein is a business and economics columnist who writes about local, national and international topics.

View post:
Wonkblog: To quash the tea party once and for all, Democrats should publicly back John Boehner

Temptation by The Tea Party
Live @ Kool Haus, Toronto 2014.11.27.

By: Tim Cromey

Go here to see the original:
Temptation by The Tea Party - Video

Disney Princess Surprise Tea Party
Come join our princess party and open five surprise play dough eggs with us!

By: Toys Galore

Read the original here:
Disney Princess Surprise Tea Party - Video