(An excellent post! - promoted by Shane C. Mason)
Today's Missoulian published a guest column piece from Rep. Dennis Rehberg, titled "In 'saving' the Front, we lost a piece of the energy puzzle" (sorry, no link).
In his 700 or so words, Rehberg bemoans the loss of the Rocky Mountain Front to energy exploration on two main points - that "the legislative vehicle to make this happen represents the very worst in politics" and that "at a time when America is experiencing an energy crunch...summarily closing off the Front is a potential step backward in the battle to end our dependence on foreign energy."
hmmph. You just don't get it, do you Denny? |
| Rep. Rehberg goes on to criticize the bill as "a provision that wasn't subject to a vote, much less public comment or debate" that "was attached to a 'must-pass' bill in the dark of the night." This is hypocritically, in the very least, considering his membership in the party of back-room-deals and midnight-riders. Montanans, he goes on to add "were denied a seat at the table and were barred from providing any input."
Ah-hem...we just had an election Mr. Rehberg, where both Senatorial candidates made the promise to protect the Front. Burns sure didn't make that promise because he thought it was a good idea - he knew it was gonna help him win votes. Me thinks the voters already spoke, and I'm wont to find a Montanan criticizing Baucus' recently approved provision to protect the Front.
Further on, Rep. Rehberg makes some arguments that, dissected, I'd certainly agree: "America needs to buy American energy, and more specifically, America needs to buy Montana energy" "The US has been, and will continue to be, strained by our demand for foreign energy". Well, yeah, your right there Denny - but perhaps our focus should be not on sucking every last drop of oil from the earth (and Montana's) soils, but perhaps our focus should be on alternative and renewable energy resources? Again - I believe Montana voters have spoken, shouting TESTER! this past November, a vote for a man that not only supported prohibiting drilling on the Rocky Mountain Front, but a man who said that he believed in redirecting the resources of the US Government towards renewable energy resources and not national-security-weakening, military-machine protected oil.
Here's a gem: Maybe the Front has enough natural gas to knock a few dollars a month off the winter heating bills of thousands of Montana families and seniors. Now we'll never know, and the annual debate for additional funding for the Low Income Energy Assistance Program will continue in Washington without ever adressing the heart of the problem: American's lack of reliable domestic energy supplies.
There are other ramifications of shutting off domestic energy sources,which we seem to do in this country with alarming regularity. We shouldn't forget about our weakened national security and the loss of good, high-paying jobs. They're all reasons why we need a comprehensive energy plan that embraces traditional and alternative energy and why we should be making investments here at home, not lining the coffers of foreign governments, many of which are anti-American."
So, suck every bit of oil from Montana, environment be damned, for the chance to "knock a few dollars a month off the winter heating bills" - and tell us that, in some sick twisted Rehberg-logic that closing the front has weakened our national security? Sorry - I don't buy it.
I buy a plan that gets Montana communities nearly 10% of a $800 million ($72+ million) appropriation for wind energy - a bill that will not only reduce 34 Montana community government utility bills (thereby reducing costs to taxpayers) but will create jobs and - key point here - wean us away from foreign oil. $72 million isn't chump change either. Infrastructure, jobs, renewable energy - generations worth of energy all from $72 million dollars and we don't have to destroy one of the most beautiful stretches of Montana - one of the most unspoiled stretches of the United States - to do it.
As an added bonus, Max said this past Sunday in his Face the State interview on Montana CBS, that he hopes to extend the program, putting more money into Montana for renewable wind energy. Good for Max, good for Montana...but, apparently, bad for Rehberg.
Yep, Denny just doesn't get it. |
