Tea Party Activists Used As Polluter Props

She isn't a global warming denier. She understands that clean energy & energy efficiency can make America more energy independent.

But as the Washington Post reports, a Tea Party activist was used as a prop at recent climate treaty negotiations by a front group funded by big polluters:

The caravan stopped along a dusty shoulder, opposite a large convention center housing exhibits related to the conference. Bell and her fellow activists got out, stood along the side of the road and posed for pictures. They had all been given Americans for Prosperity T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan "Bureaucrats Gone Wild." They held a giant novelty check made out for $100 billion, mocking a proposal to give that much money to developing nations to combat climate change.

In front of them stood Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity, waiting for his cue to begin speaking into a video camera.

"Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wants to give $100 billion of American taxpayer money to developing nations through the United Nations," he began. "We think that with a $1.3 trillion deficit, we don't need to be doing something like that, especially for a bogus ideology that Al Gore is pushing."

And cut. Everyone back into the vans.

It's no surprise that Koch Industries continues to fund front groups that fight regulations designed to protect our public health & natural resources. But why do Tea Party activists who should know better keep going along for the ride, in this case literally?