Opinion: Protect Energy Choice – sign I-2066 this June

Nancy Churchill points out that while Democrats control the Washington State House and Senate, they do not control the initiative process

Nancy Churchill
Dangerous Rhetoric

While Democrats control the Washington State House and Senate, they do not control the initiative process. In recent years, conservatives in Washington have had some modest success with initiatives to the Legislature. Three initiatives to the Legislature were passed this last session, even though the Democrats were reluctant to do so. Three other initiatives were ignored by the Legislature, and those will appear at the top of the ballot this fall.

Today, I want to talk about a new initiative — an initiative to the people. Initiatives to the people don’t go through the Legislature at all. That’s good, but unfortunately, the timeline to collect signatures is very short. The sponsors need to collect around four hundred thousand signatures statewide by the end of June in order to qualify their initiative to be on the November ballot.

The end of the world as we know it

Progressives at the state and national level are selling the snake-oil idea of pending environmental disaster. If you’re older than 30, you probably realize that they’ve been pitching the end of the world as an excuse to grab power for many decades. Back in the 70’s it was the ‘population bomb,’ after that it was a coming ice age, then Al Gore tried to sell the idea that the polar ice caps were melting.

After global warming made global cooling look like a hoax, the progressives rebranded their disaster into “climate change.” In each case, the supposed man-made environmental disaster was only 10 to 20 years away, and immediate action was required. In each case, when the predicted disaster doesn’t happen, progressives don’t apologize or give up, they just move the goalposts.

Here’s the problem. Enemies of our country, most notably China, realize that the “man-caused” global warming is a hoax, and they’re not playing the game. China is bringing many new coal burning power plants online every year, and they are no fools. They’re not worried about carbon in the atmosphere, they’re worried about bringing their country into the industrial age as quickly as possible. Past Chinese leaders were persuaded to limit their population with the infamous one-child policy, which is now creating real problems for the future of their society and economy. I don’t think they will be taken in by foolish disaster prophecies a second time.

Control the energy, control the society

Inslee’s Democratic caucus in Olympia has been very busy trying to crush and assume total control over our economy with the Climate Commitment Act. In the years since Inslee came to power, they have incrementally passed many laws designed to force everyone to use electricity, but not just any electricity. Hydropower and nuclear power — reliable and inexpensive — are not good sources of electricity to the Democrats. Only intermittent and expensive power generated by wind farms and solar panels will do.

This is because the radical progressive policy is not really about protecting the environment. And these policies are NOT focused on making sure everyone has access to abundant and affordable energy. The real goal of these radical policies is total control over electricity production and electricity pricing.

Small steps this year; statewide bans in the future

During the last session of the legislature, a law was passed that removed the legal requirement that Puget Sound Energy continue to provide natural gas to their customers (House Bill 1589). Puget Sound Energy needed relief from the requirement to provide gas services to its customers in order to meet the recent new Climate Commitment Act mandates which required the power company to limit carbon production.

It’s only a matter of time before Puget Sound Energy customers will lose access to natural gas. Many heat their homes and use natural gas appliances, which are especially useful when bad weather causes a power outage. Retrofitting a home or apartment from gas to electricity is complex and expensive. This will worsen the housing crisis and make rentals even more unaffordable. But this doesn’t just impact residential users. Many businesses, restaurants and manufacturers must have natural gas in order to stay in business.

And the Democrats are experts at moving the ball down the field. It’s just Puget Sound Energy this year. But in the future it will be the entire state, and after that, it will be a ban on propane. Soon consumers will be forced to use only electricity. And electricity production will be limited and expensive because of over-reliance on wind and solar energy. That’s a feature, not a bug.

Protect Energy Choice: I-2066

Initiative 2066, if we can get it on the ballot, would change the law to allow energy choice, and prohibit state and local governments from limiting access to natural gas and propane. America is supposed to be a free market, and consumers need to be able to choose the type of energy that meets their needs, not just the government-approved, expensive and unreliable energy source.

According to ProtectEnergyChoice.com, “natural gas delivers vital energy, warmth and comfort to millions of homes and supports the jobs and security of 100,000+ businesses, restaurants and institutions in Washington.” When you sign I-2066, you are saying ‘yes’ to energy choice and energy affordability. With your signature, you are doing your part to end natural gas bans or restrictions for new and existing natural gas customers. With your signature, you are working to repeal laws requiring energy companies to remove natural gas as an energy option. With your signature, you become part of the solution to problems created by radicals.

For more information, please visit ProtectEnergyChoice.com, and watch the excellent video from the Building Industry Association of Washington. They’ll help you get “fired up” to protect clean, green natural gas and energy choice.

Sometimes it feels like we can’t do much to influence our political environment, but the initiative process is very powerful. When we-the-people work together, we can make a big difference in Washington. If you want to sign this initiative, contact ProtectEnergyChoice.com. You can also find signing locations at LetsGoWashington.com/signing-locations/.

Nancy Churchill is a writer and educator in rural eastern Washington State, and the state committeewoman for the Ferry County Republican Party. She may be reached at DangerousRhetoric@pm.me. The opinions expressed in Dangerous Rhetoric are her own. Dangerous Rhetoric is available on thinkspot, Rumble and Substack.