If I were pressed to offer one anecdote exemplifying our failure to elect consistent conservatives to Congress last November, the story of Senator Jerry Moran and Big Wind would be at the top of the list.

In 2010, then-Congressman Jerry Moran beat former Congressman Todd Tiahrt for the Republican nomination for Senate in Kansas running as a red meat conservative.  He easily won the seat in this solid Republican state and summarily joined the ‘Tea Party Caucus’ in the Senate.  Nothing emblematizes the convictions of the Tea Party more than its fervent opposition to special interest handouts and government interventions in the private sector as a way of picking winners and losers.  Yet, Senator Moran let the cat out of the bag last week that he has absolutely no compunction about picking winners and losers, or in the case of Big Wind, big losers.

Last week, Senator Moran announced that he is submitting an amendment to the terrible Senate highway bill (S.1813) that would extend the 2.2 cent/ per kilowatt-hour Production Tax Credit (PTC) for another 4 years.  This special interest handout to Solar and Wind is slated to expire at the end of the year.  What happened to Moran’s Tea Party views?  Well, he unabashedly threw them under the solar-powered bus:

Asked about opposition to extending the credit expressed by Rep. Mike Pompeo of Wichita, Moran said: “There are members of Congress who feel we ought not to pick winners and losers, to let the markets decided. I believe it’s better to get this industry up and running, then let the country decide… rather than pull the rug out overnight.”

Wow!  At least he’s honest.  I wish we had known that before the election.

The PTC is the corporate version of the Earned Income Credit for green energy.  It is among 51 ‘tax extenders’ that have either expired last December or are slated to expire this December.  The PTC offers a 2.2 cent/per kilowatt-hour refundable credit for wind, solar, or geothermal.  According to the Heritage Foundation, if the oil industry received a commensurate subsidy, they would get a $30 check for every barrel produced.

Headed into the November elections, one of our most potent and popular arguments we have is to paint the Democrats with the Solyndra economy –an economy where the government intervenes to pick winners and losers, at the detriment of consumers and taxpayers.  How can we effectively articulate an alternative free-market vision when we have a member of “the Tea Party Caucus” supporting Obama’s policy of picking losers in the energy sector?  Talk about pale pastels!

Folks, this is not how we win elections.  Moreover, this type of special interest peddling – from energy subsidies to farm welfare – creates dependency in some of the reddest states.  This is not a winning message for the future of conservatism, especially when it emanates from such a Republican state.

There is a better way.  Congressman Mike Pompeo (R-KS) introduced legislation (HR 3308) to sunset all targeted energy tax credits and grants, including those for fossil fuels and nuclear power.  The bill would use the savings from the repeal of these credits (roughly $90 billion over ten years) to lower the corporate tax rate on everyone.  Senator DeMint has introduced a companion bill in the Senate (S.2064).

Every member of Congress who seeks a clean break from a centrally-planned Solyndra economy must cosponsor this bill.  Additionally, as we look for more congressional candidates to endorse, it is these issues – energy and farm subsidies – that will separate the men from the boys.  We must fight this election by offering voters a choice, not an echo.

Cross-posted from The Madison Project