Politics makes strange, if fleeting, bedfellows. But now a fling between tea party loyalists and green groups suddenly has the makings of a permanent union.
Emboldened by wins over business leaders and the state’s most powerful utility, the odd allies formed the Green Tea Coalition this month with plans to unite behind other common causes. Organizers envision the group shaping policy in next year’s legislative session and the political season that follows.
The partnership was born two years ago in the fight against the T-SPLOST plan and energized last month by a win that forced Georgia Power to significantly expand its solar energy plans. But, with Tea Party usually taking a conservative stance and green groups typically supporting a leftist agenda, the most vexing challenge may be withstanding internal divisions that have undone other such partnerships.
“To me, it’s simply the latest example of why politics is so fascinating, that you get these kinds of strange bedfellows forming a coalition,” said Harvey Newman, a Georgia State University public policy professor. “That makes politics so interesting.”
The coalition handed Georgia Power a rare loss last month when it encouraged the state Public Service Commission to force the utility to significantly expand the amount of solar energy it produces, despite initial objections from Georgia Power attorneys that it could drive up rates.
Its next step may be far more ambitious. Group organizers talk of championing new funding mechanisms for solar energy, overhauling subsidies for utilities and even a challenge to the 40-year-old law that guarantees Georgia Power’s monopoly status.
That law has been used by Georgia Power and the state’s electric cooperatives to block legislation that would allow solar companies to install panels on homes and businesses and sell energy at a fixed rate. The latest threat comes from Georgia Solar Utilities, a startup which wants to create a new solar monopoly.
Georgia Power is ready to marshal its considerable political might to fend off rivals. The company said that regulators should ensure that only companies that can provide customers with reliable year-round power should be sanctioned to sell electricity.
Reaching agreement on the best strategy to address other common issues will be no easy task for a disparate group that includes executives from solar companies, leaders of the Tea Party Patriots and environmentalists from a half-dozen groups. Organizers seem ready to test their luck.
“We can be a lasting coalition,” said Seth Gunning, a Sierra Club leader and Green Tea member. “There are deep-pocketed interests that have marginalized the voice of ratepayers and dominated the political space. And we’re from populist groups that want regular folks to make sure their voice is heard.”
David Staples, a tea party member and one of Green Tea’s founders, said divides over policy so far are merely “slight differences of opinion” that can be overcome with tactful diplomacy.
One example is the tension over government subsidies to energy companies: Progressives want them to be fair and equal, while tea party types want them removed completely.
“There’s a natural tension there,” he said.
So how did they resolve the fight? Staples said the tea partiers and green groups agreed on the gradual elimination of subsidies.
“There’s varying examples of government overreach and, from the tea party perspective, we want to see the government butt out,” Staples said. “Perhaps that’s another area we can agree on.”
There’s no guarantee that Green Tea will claim another victory or even survive the year. But with Georgia’s GOP hierarchy wary of upsetting tea party supporters, some analysts advise not to count the upstart out.
“It’s a potentially creative way to get things done,” said Kerwin Swint, a Kennesaw State University political scientist. “Maybe it’s one way to break through these partisan lockdowns that frustrate us so much.”
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