We had an amazing trip that allowed us to meet and visit with so many passionate Americans who motivated us to continue our fight.  Whether it was the simple thank you and God bless you for what you’re doing we heard from a teacher in Lawrence County, PA, the fired up coal miners in Holden, WV who want to keep their jobs, the passionate geologists in Columbus, OH who taught us about their work, or the kind caterers in Elkhart, IN who brought us lunch, every person we met on this trip inspired us to keep going. 

For anyone we saw at an event, who followed us on this blog, who donated money to keep the bus rolling, or who joined our fight, thank you so much.  We appreciate you.

All over this country, all summer long, Americans spent the last few months making their voices heard and participating in the political process, which is something we’re proud to have witnessed firsthand. It truly is something that should make us proud to live in America. We have the freedom to say, out loud, without any fear, just what we think. 

And over and over we heard people tell us just what they think about cap-and-trade.  Americans understand that cap-and-trade is nothing but a massive tax on our way of life.  It will increase the price of nearly every good and service in our economy and it will kill jobs.  It is a no-brainer, and nearly everyone we spoke to about cap-and-tax is wholeheartedly against it. 

Unfortunately, some in Congress remain committed to passing this harmful legislation.  We know that there is no limit to the amount of arm-twisting and horse trading cap-and-tax proponents in the Senate will engage in to get their way. 

That’s why it is now more important than ever that we make our voices heard!  The tour is over, but the fight continues.  Please continue to use www.energytownhall.org as a way to make your voice heard. 

Again, thank you for your support!

Now, after a great three days in Virginia and an unbelievable 25 days on the road, we’re on our way back to D.C. In honor of the thousands of people we’ve talked to, we decided to compile another top ten list. This time, we’re compiling ten of the concerns we heard most often from the thousands of Americans we’ve spoken with over the last 25 days in PA, OH, IN, WV and VA.

10. China and India aren’t doing this to their economy. If we do, they’ll hold even more of our debt and our sacrifice won’t even make a difference.

9. If gas prices go any higher, our family won’t take a vacation anymore.

8. If we have to pay more for everything else, we won’t have any money left in our budget to save for the future.

7. I’m afraid I’ll get laid off from my job in the manufacturing industry, as a truck driver, as a farmer, as a coal miner, in the oil industry, in the natural gas industry and many, many more.

6. My children are about to graduate from college/high school. I am so worried that they won’t be able to find a job that will pay their bills.

5. If prices get any higher, I’ll have to choose between my prescriptions and my electricity bill.

4. If prices get any higher for me, I’ll have to choose between groceries and the electricity bill.

3. I already had to walk here today because I can’t afford gasoline. How will I ever pay my bills if they keep going up?

If bills go any higher, my children aren’t going to have a Christmas this year.

1. If this goes through, we’ll all be riding horses everywhere. That’s fun, but not very practical. There’s a reason I pulled my horse here in a trailer–I didn’t ride into Lexington this morning.

Dear Mr. President,

Tonight, you address the American people from Washington, D.C. Your direct audience, some of the most powerful men and women in this nation–the 535 members of Congress–will listen to you with rapt attention. Your words dominate coverage on the three major news networks, the many cable news outlets, on the radio, and in countless newspaper, magazine, and blog articles throughout the weekend.

The American Energy Alliance and our American Energy Express (AEX) team obviously don’t have access to that kind of platform, and rightfully so–you’re the President. But we do have access to something you seem to have overlooked in your efforts to advance the cap-and-trade energy tax legislation through the Congress — the American people. We have spent the last 23 days traveling through five states, hearing directly from Americans about their lives, the tough realities they face everyday, and how higher energy prices would impact their family budgets, their small businesses and their way of life.

Unfortunately, as a result of your busy schedules in Washington, D.C., sometimes you and those 535 members of Congress miss out on those stories. That’s why we’re writing to you today. We hope you’ll take some of what we’ve learned into consideration.  

Cap-and-tax is a terrible policy. As you said yourself, it will bankrupt the coal industry and cause electricity prices to “necessarily skyrocket.” The American people cannot afford the largest tax increase in U.S. history, especially if levied on the lifeblood of our society, energy.

But don’t take it from us. Take it from the people we’ve talked to in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, and Virginia, many of whom voted to put you in office.

Listen to the woman in Lima, Ohio who told us she walked to our event because she couldn’t afford gasoline.

Listen to the parents in Bowling Green, Ohio who worry that they won’t be able to give their sons a proper Christmas if you move forward with your plan.

Listen to the coal miners in West Virginia who turned out in droves to keep you from bankrupting the industry that has fed their families for generations.

Listen to the man in Hookstown, Pennsylvania who said he’ll have to choose between electricity and groceries if his utilities go any higher.

Tonight, you’ve got the entire nation on the edge of their seats, listening to your every word. We hope you’ll return the favor and listen to some of us.

Sincerely,
The American Energy Alliance

As WVU Professor of Economics Russ Sobel says in this video, coal is an industry that’s captive: it can’t “pick up and leave” the state.

What state bureaucrats haven’t done to force coal jobs out of the state, cap-and-trade will accomplish. As coal plants’ operating costs skyrocket, it will be more profitable to provide goods and services in another state or, more likely, overseas. When West Virginia’s last major economic lifeline disappears, what will happen to the people who live there?

If cap-and-trade passes, it would be harmful for all of us, but it would be particularly devastating to West Virginia.

We threw around a few obvious jokes pretty quickly. Cap-and-trade is a dummy’s bet; it will kill our economy just as if the President went to the track and bet on a scratched horse. It’s a sure loser.

But the more I think about it, the more I think those jokes aren’t strong enough. When you’re picking a horse, despite the odds, you might win. Not to mention the fact that those wagering on ponies choose their own bets and play with their own money. With cap-and-trade, the government is forcing Americans to bet on a dead horse– losing money is a sure thing.

I doubt we’ll see many people at Colonial Downs wagering on dead horses, but I am confident that we’ll hear from more Americans who are concerned about the government’s irresponsible policies. We’re looking forward to hearing their stories, as well as the many others we’re sure to hear in the next few days as we take the AEX through the Old Dominion.

Today was a different story. We attended the Friends of America Rally in Holden, West Virginia.

After reading local media reports that estimated attendance was nearing 100,000, we thought it would be best to get the AEX set up the night before. So, Tom, our all-star motor coach operator, and I trekked up Mine 22 Ridge Road late last night to her set up.

The rally/concert took place a reclaimed mine site – a perfect venue for an event of this nature. It featured Ted Nugent, Hank Williams, Jr., and Sean Hannity, among others. Talk about an a-list line up!

In addition to the first class entertainment, a handful of speakers addressed the crowd. Mr. Don Blankenship, Chairman and CEO of Massey Energy hosted the event and rallied the crowd with the stone cold facts about cap-and-trade. Rally goers also heard from Lord Christopher Monckton, a science adviser to former British Prime Minister Lady Margaret Thatcher.

Between the entertainment, guest speakers and number of attendees, the Friends of America Rally may very well have been the biggest Labor Day event in the country – it definitely had the best entertainment and was by far the largest event the AEX as attended to date.

Thanks, West Virginia for a great three days. And a special thanks to Mike, Eric, Greg and the District Commander of the West Virginia State Police, Bill, for their assistance and hospitality at the Friends of America Rally. We had a great time!

The AEX is now off to the old Dominion for the last leg of our Stop The National Energy Tax, Save American Jobs bus tour.

If you have a better cap-and-trade joke, leave it in the comments!

I try to visit West Virginia once or twice a year to white water raft, camp and enjoy the outdoors. These semi-annual trips began a few years back when a group of friends wanted to run the upper Gauley River.

Over the years, I’ve met the folks who run the camps, fellow rafters, and river guides. And to no one’s surprise, most, if not all, of the natives either have a family member, neighbor or friend who works in the coal industry.

West Virginia is coal country. It’s what they do. It’s their way of life. After Wyoming, West Virginia is the largest coal producing state in the Union. Some 98 percent of their power generation comes from coal, and the state mines roughly 13 percent of all the coal that powers the United States.

These folks are proud of their heritage. Most are second, third and, in some cases, fourth generation miners. For West Virginians, coal jobs provide good wages, a stable lifestyle and often require break-neck hours underground.

These are the people who power our way of life. And the resource they mine keeps half of our lights, TVs, and other household appliances working – that’s not to mention the coal-generated electricity that powers the factories and plants that manufacture the goods we use each and every day.

Cap-and-trade would put many of these folks out of work. It would cripple communities that have mined a valuable and critical resource for generations. While the President and some in Congress want to “bankrupt” the coal industry, I simply ask that they visit Boone, Logan, Marshall or Marion County. Or perhaps, visit Morgantown on a Mountaineer football weekend to see firsthand who these folks are, meet their families and enjoy the pristine wilderness that they too admire and make use of to hunt, fish, camp, hike or raft.

This is truly a state that lives up to its ‘Wild and Wonderful’ slogan. Let’s just hope that policymakers in Washington don’t get their way – because cap-and-trade will change it all.

As you can see from the photo, the protesters attended today’s events dressed as cavemen and women. We spoke to some of the energy tax’s supporters, who said they dressed as people from the Stone Age because they believe that the Republican Members of the Ohio Congressional delegation who voted against cap-and-tax belong in the Stone Age.

We at AEX don’t quite get that joke. In fact, we think the cavemen who fight for cap-and-tax perfectly exemplify the point we’re trying to make out here on the road. Any effort to tax our energy and keep us from using the affordable, reliable, and abundant energy sources like coal, oil, and natural gas that built this country would be a return to the prehistoric period– a time before easily accessible air conditioning, washing machines, transportation, or refrigerators, to which none of us are eager to return.

Later in the day, we held a rally in Mount Vernon, Ohio, an all-American quaint little town about an hour from Columbus. Tom Stewart, Executive Vice President for the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, spoke to the crowd of about 100 who gathered with us in the Mount Vernon Public Square. The first line of his remarks, “I am big oil,” reminded me of the signs the protestors held this morning.

The fact is, Tom is a third generation independent oil and gas producer. Many people carry the misconception that most of our oil and gas comes from huge, money-grubbing companies–a fallacy people fighting for cap-and-tax continue to proliferate.

In reality, independent producers–companies with about 12 employees–drill about 90% of the oil and natural gas produced in the lower 48 states. That accounts for 82% of the natural gas Americans use and 68% of our crude oil. In Ohio alone, independent producers employ over 4,623 Buckeyes–jobs that would be threatened if cap-and-trade becomes law.

We sure hope Senators Brown and Voinovich consider those jobs, and those votes, when they vote on cap-and-tax this fall.