How to stop Cap and Trade the smart, effective way

First, the dumb and ineffective way to stop Cap and Trade ("CAT") is the tea party way: standing outside a meeting hall chanting like the ACORN Kindergarten League (link). That's the way promoted by Glenn Reynolds and Redstate.

This post is about the smart and effective way to achieve your goal.

If you oppose CAT, then presumably you have valid arguments against it, right? Otherwise, why do you oppose it?

Also, presumably, you think your opponents' arguments are wrong in various ways.

If you're able to show that they're wrong, and you're able to do that in a major, highly-publicized fashion, then won't that go a long way towards blocking CAT?

So, how do you do that? The MSM isn't going to do it, and Pelosi isn't going to return your email. Discussing this issue in echo chambers on the net is going to have an impact, in that it might encourage people to contact their leaders and it might encourage some people to send out emails that will inform others about this issue. But, that's not going to take on the other side.

However, there is something you can do that will be very effective.

Here's what you do:

1. Take your valid arguments and compare them to what opposition leaders say, looking for conflicts, contradictions, things they aren't mentioning, things they're lying about, and so on.

2. Fashion the preceding into questions for the opposition ("you said X, but evidence shows Y is true"; "you said X but you forgot to mention Y and Z", etc.)

3. Go to public appearances by those leaders and ask them those questions to their face on video.

4. Upload the video of them being "p0wned" to Youtube, and promote it.

If even just a few people did that, it would have a major impact on the debate. If Pelosi gets "p0wned" over the issue - in a valid, logical and thus difficult to counter way - and hundreds of thousands see it on Youtube and millions see it on cable TV, that's going to have an impact on the issue.

And, you don't have to do all of this yourself. You can form into groups, with people choosing roles depending on what they're best on. Policy experts can come up with the questions, someone familiar with both the issue and with asking questions can go to the meeting, someone else can videotape it, and so on.

It's also vitally important to know how to ask questions in an effective way. If you just rant or ask an open-ended question, you might end up helping the opposition. Organizing such groups is left up to you.