KY-Sen. 2010: Trey Grayson gave keynote speech at Van Jones-sponsored climate change event

AIP / Conservative Hippie Chick ^ | 2009-11-22

[rabscuttle385]

(snip)

Trey Grayson, a Republican candidate for US Senate, was the keynote speaker on the issue of global warming last year at Eastern Kentucky University as part of the National Focus the Nation event.

Now, why is that such a big deal? Well, the Special Adviser for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation for Focus the Nation is none other than Van Jones. Yes, that's right, the self-proclaimed communist Obama hired to be the Green Jobs Czar that had to tuck tail and resign at midnight.

WHOA

Now, let's back up a bit. Here's a bit of history on Focus the Nation. They are a "climate change" advocate group that supports Cap and Trade and all kinds of other crap. their supporters are a who's who of the liberal progressive DC bunch, including Ma'am Boxer, Pelosi, Arlen Specter, all the way up to Obama himself. Last January, they conducted webcasts and "teach-ins" in over 1900 high school and college campuses across the country, and now they are working on what they call "The Road to Copenhagen." Oh, you remember the upcoming Copenhagen event, right? The one that, if the treaty is signed and ratified, will literally override the Constitution. Yeah, nice, right?

(snip)

[skinkinthegrass]

As for Rand Paul, given that his father WAS the anti-Reagan who opposed him for President, Rand cannot claim that mantle, either....Virtually all the sleaze and slander has been coming exclusively from Paul’s camp, the Soros and Van Jones associations, which are so ludicrously over the top

Hmmm....What you say is true.
Hadn't heard of him prior to this Senate Run.
....and I rem: BlueGrass Patriot's tactics in '03.
all smoke...no fire.

I rem; you talking about his local/state connection (Louis'ville mtg.), RPL.

[RonPaulLives]

No, in other words, you come to yet another thread and start the RINO talking points about Grayson being a man who has done a good job, but you are an out-of-stater who cannot give me examples of the good job he’s done.

[RonPaulLives]

Good memory about the “BlueGrass Patriot” tactics from 2003, skink! And once again, you are correct, skink, about me discussing his connections in the state back several years ago.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Elected officials give speeches at conferences and events all the time, that’s a fact of life. I doubt seriously that Grayson knew who Van Jones was, and he certainly wouldn’t approve of a Communist thug. You could dig up and slime any pol with guilt by association at such events. But the sleaze here is implying he is in the back pocket of Soros and a close personal acquaintance of Jones. Anyone with an ounce of brain matter knows that is bullcrap.

[fieldmarshaldj]

I have, for my entire life, lived less than 40 miles from Kentucky as the crow flies. We get KY news, KY weather, KY sports and on and on, so take your red herring crap argument and shove it up your kiester. And, y’know, for somebody touting Junior Paul, you seem thoroughly incapable of detailing all his “great achievements” for which you claim he is infinitely better than that “horrible Grayson.” Well, what are they ? You guys remind me of the Slick Willardbots proclaiming how great their guy was, yet when it came time to reeling off his accomplishments, he had NOTHING. Oh, wait... Slick Willard at least had a record to review, Junior Paul ain’t even got that. Talk about a real achievement.

[ellery]

I guess my question is more focused on whether he’s a warmist. I’m looking for the actual speech, but it certainly doesn’t look good that he gave the keynote. I assume that the keynote speaker is not going to be a person who opposes the goals of the conference.

I also found this: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P3-1389489451.html

It appears Grayson endorsed Romney ‘way back in November 2007. That’s a huuuuuuuge red flag for me.

[RonPaulLives]

Thank you for explaining your geographical situation, which I was not aware of. You constantly attack Dr. Paul, and then you get aggressive and confrontational with me as well.

Once again, you take words out of context and then add words where convenient for you. I never used the words "great achievements" in regards to Dr. Paul, and I never used the words "horrible Grayson." But since you asked so nicely, here are just a few facts about Dr. Paul:

- Founder of the Southern Kentucky Lions Eye Clinic to help provide eye surgery and free exams for the poor
- Founder and Chairman of the Kentucky Taxpayers United since 1994
- Sponsor of the Taxpayer's Pledge of Americans for Tax Reform

These things are more in line with the Kentuckian Republicans I have known for decades than a Harvard guy who was still a Democrat one year prior to running for public office. Ironic that you mention the Slick Willardbots, since Grayson was a Clinton supporter also.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Valid question. I don’t rightly know, as Sec of State of KY that’s not an issue he’d be dealing with as a policy (you’d be more likely to know were he Governor or a Congressmember). That Presidential endorsement is troubling (and my reputation on FR as the #1 opponent of Slick Willard is well established, risking my account to see his candidacy scuttled), although as we saw, a lot of pols were trying to pick over whom they thought were the best of a lot of subpar candidates. Of course, DeMint of SC endorsed Slick Willard, too, a black mark on an otherwise good record in the Senate.

As I’ve said many times, if Grayson ends up this horrific left-winger the Paulbots claim in the Senate, I’ll be the first to call for his defeat. I give folks a chance to do the right thing, and if they screw up, they lose my support, it’s that simple.

[ellery]

Good point about DeMint—although at least he endorsed Romney before there was much thought of Thompson getting in the race (so he gets a leeetle more of a pass). :)

Anyway, for all the arguments about who’s local to this race, I’m way up here in Pa, so I’m a complete spectator. :)

[MSF BU]

"In fact, I was one of only four sitting members of the United States House of Representatives who endorsed Ronald Reagan's candidacy for President in 1976."

As I thought, Paul was one of the few who supported Reagan in 1976. He headed their 1976 delegation which presented headaches for the Ford people. As for either candidate losing, I can't imagine Kentucky sending a liberal to the senate next year.

[MSF BU]

I’m sure somebody soon will chase them both down and nail them on specific issues. I hope we don’t end up with a 70% solution when we could have a 100% solution.

[rabscuttle385]

I guess my question is more focused on whether he’s a warmist. I’m looking for the actual speech, but it certainly doesn’t look good that he gave the keynote. I assume that the keynote speaker is not going to be a person who opposes the goals of the conference.

Irrespective of Rand Paul's record, it does appear that Trey Grayson did in fact give a speech at a "sustainability" event at Eastern Kentucky University on 01 Feb. 2008. Quote:

Secretary Grayson will discuss how Kentucky can respond to the challenge of global warming and climate change. Event is sponsored by EKU's Committee on Responsible Environmental Stewardship as part of the national "Focus the Nation" event.

Event Date: February 01 11:30 a.m.
Location: SSB O'Donnell Auditorium
Cost: Free
Contact Information: Charles Elliott, 622-1538

Source: Eastern Kentucky University, Press Release, 25 Jan. 2008 (https://ssl.eku.edu/prm.eku.edu/ekutoday/?module=0&id=4646&PHPSESSID=0170afcc5a00b46c487399bfd500e22f)

Note that Grayson's speech on "global warming" was preceded on the evening of 30 Jan. 2008 by a video web cast featuring Van Jones, Stanford University climate scientist Stephen Schneider, and sustainability "consultant" Hunter Lovins.

Source: Eastern Kentucky University, Press Release, 25 Jan. 2008 (https://ssl.eku.edu/prm.eku.edu/ekutoday/?module=0&id=4645&PHPSESSID=0170afcc5a00b46c487399bfd500e22f)

Note: Dr. Schneider in 1977 predicted an imminent Ice Age and was later criticized by colleagues for using scare tactics in order to gain publicity. In addition, his e-mails were recently caught up in the hacked Hadley CRU e-mail scandal, popularly known here on FR as "Climategate."

The video web cast itself centered on the promotion of "The 2% Solution." (You can read more about it here and here.) In other words:

With an increase of government spending of 2% of GDP, we can solve all these problems, but it will require "grand bargains" between the parties, with Democrats agreeing to accept market-oriented programs if Republicans will generously fund them. For instance, Miller says many Republicans would support universal health coverage if Democrats would allow a plan relying on tax subsidies to cover private insurance policies. Based on similar principles, Miller crafts Solomonic proposals to raise teacher pay, experiment with school vouchers, subsidize a living wage for poor workers, publicly finance elections, slow the growth rate of Social Security and Medicare expenses, and offset the costs of the new initiatives. Though he calls it "ideologically androgynous," Miller's agenda resembles the New Democrat platform and will be a harder sell to the committed tax cutters of the GOP.

Source: Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Two-Percent-Solution-Americas-Conservatives/dp/1586481584)

In other words, we are talking about a video web cast promoting some serious "bipartisanship" in the style of McCain and Romney including such programs as Obamacare.

According to Eastern Kentucky University, both Grayson's speech and the video web cast were sponsored by progressive advocacy group Focus the Nation. In its own words, the organization is

a national non-profit headquartered Portland, Oregon. We believe in the science of climate change and the opportunity it presents to rebuild American communities and US leadership at the local and international level. We are driven by a fierce commitment to empower young people with the leadership, educational and engagement opportunities that will accelerate our transition to a more just and prosperous clean energy future.

Source: Focus the Nation, About (http://www.focusthenation.org/about)

The group has been praised by such liberal Democrats as Sens. Kerry and Feinstein of Massachusetts and California, respectively, and has partners such as the Rockefeller Brothers Fund whose self-described mission includes "helping to build a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world."

[rabscuttle385]

One further link I forgot to include at post 32:

http://www.prm.eku.edu/Update/?issue=99amp;department=0amp;article=1111&department=0&article=1116

[RonPaulLives]

MSF BU: you are exactly right about Dr. Ron Paul supporting Ronald Reagan over Gerald Ford.

ellery: I didn't even realize that Grayson had been a supporter of Mitt Romney. I was a supporter of Dr. Ron Paul, as obviously was his son. When I saw the term "Slick Williard," I mistakingly thought the reference was to Bill Clinton.

As to being local or complete spectator, I don't think there is anything wrong with being involved with races across the country. I simply have a problem with someone I know pretty well (Dr. Rand Paul and I share several good friends over several years) being called crazy and unaccomplished and trying "to buy a Senate seat."

[rabscuttle385]

See posts 32 and 33.

[ellery]

Ugh. Double ugh.

And great research—thank you.

[ellery]

That makes sense. I have to say that at this point my default is against the establishment republican in any GOP primary race (unless there are massive, compelling reasons to support him/her). I don’t get to vote in this one, though...:)

[MSF BU]

It does seem odd calling an MD unaccomplished. Personally, I think that some of our best candidates for office are those who have NOT spent their entire life in government.

[rabscuttle385]

I didn't even realize that Grayson had been a supporter of Mitt Romney.

Okay, now I am going to put two and two together and go out on a limb a bit.

Supporter of Mitt Romney?

Hanging out with guys who are pushing "The 2% Solution," which includes as part of the proposal the following:

For instance, Miller says many Republicans would support universal health coverage if Democrats would allow a plan relying on tax subsidies to cover private insurance policies.

which sounds very similar to Romneycare in Massachusetts.

Combined with Trey Grayson's past history as a Democrat, I would be interested in finding out exactly when he decided to switch parties and his motivation for doing so.

Otherwise, this sorry bastard doesn't pass my sniff test, no matter what his backers claim he has done for Kentucky.

[ellery]

Grayson was involved in crafting the GOP platform last year. For what it’s worth, here is what he had to say related to climate change/global warming (still looking for the speech):

The group faced a similar challenge with a statement regarding global warming, which the party’s position statement refers to as “climate change.”

“For me the terms are interchangeable,” Grayson said. But for others in the party the term “global warming” isn’t acceptable. “I think the distinction some people make is that they aren’t fully convinced that maybe we’re not warming,” he said. “I don’t think there’s skepticism that something’s going on, which is why the climate change phrase is OK with them.”

http://www.kentucky.com/news/state/story/509151.html