Santorum Campaign Press Release - Newt and Nancy Needed a Bigger Couch

Verona, PA - Both Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney have stood on the side of radical environmentalists and supported the junk science of global warming - and actually pushed for job-crushing cap-and-tax programs. However only one candidate - Rick Santorum - has consistently stood on the side of the American worker and for growing our economy by opposing the radical environmental lobby.

Hogan Gidley, National Communications Director, said: "Newt Gingrich and Nancy Pelosi should've gotten a bigger couch - so Mitt Romney could've joined them. While all three support job-killing cap-and-tax, at least Pelosi is honest enough to stand by her position - unlike Gingrich and Romney who are trying to change for an election.

Rick Santorum has never wavered, never backed down from supporting energy exploration, good paying American jobs, and lower energy costs. We need a conviction conservative in the White House, and Rick Santorum is the only candidate in this race to never fall prey to the environmental fringe."

ROMNEY AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL FRINGE

A Romney-Signed 2004 Report Stated Massachusetts Was Committed To "Active Participation" To Build A Multi-State Cap And Trade Program. "Massachusetts is committed to active participation in the effort to develop a multi-state cap and trade program covering greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. At the invitation of NewYork Governor George Pataki, Governor Romney has joined the initiative to reduce regional greenhouse gas emissions through a CO2 cap and trade program, starting with the electrical power sector." (Gov. Mitt Romney et. al., "Massachusetts Climate Protection Plan," Spring/04)

Romney, In July 2003 Letter To Then-Gov. George Pataki (R-NY): "Now Is The Time To Take Action Toward Climate Protection." "I concur that climate change is beginning to affect our natural resources and that now is the time to take action toward climate protection. ... (Shaun Sutner, "Romney Joins Bid To Curb Emissions," Telegram & Gazette, 8/6/03)

Romney Believed The Carbon-Trading Pact Was A Potential Model For The Nation - "I Am Convinced It Is Good For Business." "As governor of Massachusetts, Romney supported a carbon-trading pact among Northeastern states that, like his health care bill, served as a potential model for a national version. Romney even said of the plan, 'I am convinced it is good for business.'" (Andrew Schenkel, "Mitt Romney's Environmental Record," www.forbes.com, 6/3/11)

GINGRICH AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL FRINGE

Newt Gingrich actually supported a ban on offshore oil and gas drilling all four years he served as Speaker before being thrown out by conservatives in his own party. Speaker Gingrich had four years to open up oil and gas production in the Gulf and other parts of the country and did nothing, content to let radical environmentalists dictate our nation's energy future.

Gingrich also co-sponsored legislation which stated that climate change was happening "at an unprecedented rate by pollutants resulting from human activities", that "global warming will accelerate the present sea level rise", and that "global warming imperils human health and well-being" and "will jeopardize prospects for sustainable development." The goals of the bill were to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by at least 20% from 1988 levels by the year 2000, establish an International Global Agreement on the Atmosphere by 1992, and require the EPA and Energy Department to report within two years whether to pursue even higher levels of carbon dioxide emissions reductionsafter 2000. (H.R. 1078, "Global Warming Prevention Act of 1989)

It was well publicized that Gingrich sat on the couch with then-Speaker Pelosi in 2008 and demanded "action from our leaders", saying "Our country must take action to address climate change." What is less known is that the web site Gingrich asks people to visit on the video directs visitors to TheClimate Reality Project which is founded and chaired by Al Gore. The site asks supporters to "Join our project to reveal the complete truth about the climate crisis", and says the organization is guided by one simple truth: "The climate crisis is real and we know how to solve it." (www.wecansolveit.org, www.climaterealityproject.org)