Illustration by Lauren Niedergang

Most people who consider themselves "Republican" are actually imposters in the true Republican Party. Many of you "conservatives" out there either have abandoned your party or you did not understand the ideology of your party when you signed up.

A good portion of you Republicans have sold your conservative souls in order to promote special interests, resulting in the current reign of crooked political leaders who have let money corrupt the political system.

Before you open your mouth and say, "But, what about those Democ-," put aside your Bush ego and listen up.

There will be a time and column about the corruption within my own party, but sorry, this isn't it.

Vice President Dick Cheney once said, "Conservation may be a sign of personal virtue, but it is not a significant bases for a sound comprehensive energy policy." What Cheney did not add was that his infamous energy policy is not aligned with that of his own party.

Reading through the Sierra Club magazine (something you should be reading), I came across a statement from Jim Scarantino, executive director of Republicans for Environmental Protection: "It is a shame that a conservative administration had to be badgered into talking positively about efficiency."

Need that repeated? Republicans for Environmental Protection.

Yeah, I flipped out, too, when I discovered such a group existed. I tore my hair out wondering if it could be possible. A green Republican or a confused Democrat?

There are members of your own party ÷ you know, who believe in the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values and a strong national defense ÷ who believe that natural resource conservation and environmental protection should be in that ideological list.

Jim DiPeso, Communications Director of REP, explained to me that although environmental issues should be bipartisan, it was Republican politicians who brought the movement onto the national scene.

It was President Theodore Roosevelt whose actions were truly consistent with conservative values ÷ stewardship, freedom with responsibility, and preserving the American heritage by recognizing that "society is a contract among generations." He alone set aside 230 million acres of land.

Then there was President Calvin Coolidge, who set aside Glacier Bay and Lava Beds. President Herbert Hoover, who created large national monuments such as Saguaro, Death Valley, and a second for the Grand Canyon. President Dwight Eisenhower protected the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and President Richard Nixon (dare we say his name) recognized that the American people wanted environmental responsibility, thus leading the way to air and water laws, the Endangered Species Act and the Environmental Protection Agency.

And then there is Senator John McCain. Bless his green heart.

However, over the last twenty years, the Republican movement has taken a turn towards Armageddon. Individuals within your own party have muddied your core ideologies. James Watt, the Secretary of the Interior under Reagan, led the assault by declaring that environmental protection was a direct attack on freedom, business, your way of life ÷ and let's not forget America!

Command-and-control ways of pollution prevention were unacceptable because it was your God-given right to release toxins into the environment.

What many current conservatives do not get is that operating by a rigid belief in the free market does not work, not because it is bad for business or unpatriotic, but that it does not address the global commons ÷ air, water, and our public lands heritage.

DiPeso had a good point. "Ideologically, the market makes a good servant, but a bad master, and an even worse religion."

He also highlighted a conservative theory that many have forgotten. President Abraham Lincoln understood that "the best role of government is to do what people cannot do for themselves."

It takes a great body to maintain a balance between human survival and environmental protection. And Americans are lucky that we have the government structure that we do.

Let's not forget environmental conservation and protection is good for business in the long-term.

By minimizing wastes, innovating new ways to maximize the use of natural resources and treating workers well, the business can only become more efficient. And efficiency equals dollars.

To all you freedom-fighting Republicans, you have a choice. You can continue to sell-out to special interests like our President, or you can sell-out to your country and planet.

It is up to you to put conservation back into conservative.