AFP Takes Its Hot Air Balloon Tour to South Carolina to Expose the Energy Tax Hike in Cap-and-Trade Legislation

AFP targets Senator Lindsey Graham, encourages grassroots to contact Graham and
urge him to vote No on cap-and-trade

Grassroots rallies to be held in Spartanburg, Columbia, Mt. Pleasant, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina,
Oct. 26-28

As the debate rages on in Congress over cap-and-trade legislation, the free-market grassroots group Americans for Prosperity is taking its 2009 Nationwide Hot Air Tour to South Carolina on October 26-28 to give citizens of South Carolina the opportunity to make their voices heard by Senator Lindsey Graham.

The tour will bring its 70-foot-tall hot air balloon to grassroots rallies in Spartanburg, Columbia, Mt. Pleasant, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina from October 26-28.

“This cap-and-trade scheme is nothing more than a tax on energy—plain and simple,” said AFP President Tim Phillips. “Senator Graham now joins liberal members of Congress like Senator John Kerry in supporting the biggest energy tax in American history. We think American families need to know what these proposals will cost them – lost jobs, even higher energy prices, and less freedom.”

The Hot Air Tour has the goal of building grassroots pressure against costly state, local, and federal climate change policies. AFP has pledged to mobilize citizens in order to fight off any attempts to pass a cap-and-trade regulatory scheme, traveling to 15 states this year and hosting grassroots rallies with tens-of-thousands of citizen activists.

“As cap-and-trade legislation moves quickly into the Senate, we’re asking citizens at each event to urge Senator Lindsey Graham to sign our No Climate Tax Pledge,” said Phillips. “The pledge asks legislators to reject any form of the bill that increases the burden on taxpayers.”

Over 270 lawmakers and candidates have already taken the pledge. Citizens can send letters urging their legislators to sign the pledge at www.NoClimateTax.com.

Below is the schedule of Hot Air Tour events:

Monday – October 26, 2009

*Spartanburg, SC – 5:30-7:00 PM

Tuesday – October 27, 2009

*Columbia, SC – 9:00-10:30 AM

*Mt. Pleasant, SC- 5:30-7:00 PM

Wednesday – October 28, 2009

*Myrtle Beach – 9:00 – 10:30 AM

More information about the Hot Air Tour, including a full schedule of events, is available online at www.HotAirTour.org. Look for updates and photos from the road.

Media contact: Mary Ellen Burke, (703) 224-3200 or mburke@afphq.org