As a sponsor of Turning Point USA’s Student Action Summit (SAS) in West Palm Beach, FL, CFACT debuted the “Green New Wheel” table game, which “spun up” quite the buzz among students and celebrities alike.
The Green New Wheel is an actual, spin-able wheel that CFACT developed to engage the public on the folly behind the Green New Deal. Those who dared to play the game and take a spin of the Green New Wheel were faced with several options to land on: if they landed on the “Green New Deal” space with Joe Biden or Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, they lost. If they landed on a “free market energy” space, however, they won a chance at a prize. Finally, if they landed on the “How dare you?” space with Greta Thunberg, they got to spin again.
“The point of the game is to reinforce the idea that the Green New Deal is a loser for everyone,” explained CFACT’s Director of Collegians, Adam Houser. “Free markets, especially in the energy sector, bring prosperity and efficiency. But the Green New Deal will only bring economic hardship and environmental destruction. Of course the part about Greta was just some humor to keep things engaging. Students really resonated with the game and many were running up for a chance to spin. It gave us a great opportunity to discuss CFACT with them and get them involved for future activism.”
Despite the coronavirus limitations and precautions put in place by County officials, the game still attracted hundreds of high school and college students to CFACT’s table and message. It also caught the eye of Kirk Cameron, the Christian actor and movie star, and Alex Clark, host of TPUSA’s “POPlitics” show. Unfortunately for Ms. Clark, she landed on Joe Biden and the Green New Deal, but Mr. Cameron landed on free market energy.
Chandler Wysocki, a freshman at the Ohio State University, was very enthusiastic about CFACT’s message after spinning the Green New Wheel. “I love the message, and I am really looking forward to getting plugged in to the CFACT chapter on campus,” Chandler said. “There are tons of events I think we can do. A hike and litter clean up would be great to show that we as conservatives care about the environment, despite what the Left says about us.”
Tessa Burg, a freshman at Kansas University, was curious about CFACT’s mission when it came to pointing out the benefits of capitalism. “So how exactly is capitalism sustainable?” she asked while pointing at one of CFACT’s table signs.
CFACT’s Houser used the example of the American bison, which was going extinct before private property rights and the incentives of capitalism were introduced. Today, thanks to ranchers and breeders being able to privately own and raise the animals, Houser explained, there are close to 400,000 American bison alive today.
“That makes sense now,” Tessa replied. Tessa went on to explain that she was really glad there is a group out there talking about how to care about the environment with conservative principles.
CFACT’s mission also attracted the attention of national media. Both CFACT’s Houser and Bob Knee, CFACT’s National Field Coordinator, were interviewed by America’s Voice TV about their mission on college campuses. Additionally, Bob sat down with Cindy Drukier, host of The Nation Speaks, a news program with NTD.com, to discuss the growing threat of China on the world stage. Bob explained how China is using environmental issues as a political chess piece to gain influence and power on the world stage.
“With the Paris Climate Accord specifically, the Chinese Communist Party is using that agreement to gain a serious edge economically,” Knee explained. “In that deal the West has to slash emissions, but China gets to keep building as many coal plants as they want. It’s ridiculous.”
In addition to CFACT’s presence, there were many big-name speakers who took the stage at the Summit, including Tucker Carlson, Governor Kristi Noem, Dinesh D’Souza, Judge Jeanine Pirro, and more.
“The COVID lockdowns have presented a real challenge to meeting students in person and performing events on campus,” Bob Knee said. “We’ve done well where we could, but it was more important than ever to be here and get the message out to these young leaders while cooperating with the County’s precautions. Expect great things from these new CFACT activists!”
