| User Blox 4 |
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Barack Obama  |
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Rob Kailey is a working schmuck with no ties or affiliations to any governmental or political organizations, save those of sympathy.
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Sat Jun 28, 2008 at 15:12:13 PM MST
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Once again, Sinrud's little pro-extraction-industry group makes the papers. Again.
Today's it's an outline of their seven-point legislative agenda for 2009, sandwiched around this quote
"The era of radical environmentalists and their pet politicians running roughshod over blue-collar workers and small business must come to an end," Sinrud said in a press release. "Responsible development is being shut down with bogus lawsuits and policy, and it is the middle-class and working families who are suffering."
Environmentalists are responsible for all our woes? Not the fact that working-class jobs have been shipped overseas because of big money trade policies? Not the fact that the conservatives' anti-union movement (now in the state party platform!) has hamstrung workers' ability to demand better wages? Not that Republicans - including Sinrud himself - have shorted Montana's schools, and hamstrung the state's future before they even had a chance to start out?
Amazing, isn't it? And here we naively thought that Sinrud's departure from the legislature meant there would be a chance that we'd see a constructive, unified legislature work on common goals from divergent points of belief and ideology. And here he is, sniping from the outside, poisoning the well. |
| Jay Stevens :: Dumbly mulling...Driscoll...Sinrud...Rehberg, the younger |
Anyhoo - the seven legislative goals:
• Providing property tax relief to encourage the expansion of responsible resource development.
• Streamlining the permitting for logging dead timber on private, state and federal lands.
• Requiring the elected Legislature to approve any significant changes in pollution standards "by bureaucratic agencies."
• Increasing access to lower-cost, market-based utility portfolios.
• Extending tax holidays for energy and resource development and eliminating taxes on biofuels and other private energy sources made for private, "on-premises/off use."
• Fighting massive expansion of federal control of state water resources.
• Prohibiting environmental lawsuit "venue-shopping" and establishing a "loser-pay" system for what are ruled frivolous lawsuits.
I don't have a problem with many of these - although the fact that Sinrud proposed them makes me think twice. A couple stand out as egregiously "misguided."
For one - the "massive expansion of federal control over state water resources." We've been over this one before. This is the brouhaha over the Clean Water Restoration Act. The GOP's crying that it's new regulation; in fact, the act preserves the intent and regulations of the original Clean Water Act, which was gutted by a SCOTUS decision in 2006. That is, it ain't "massive expansion of federal control" over our state's watersheds; it's back to the protection of our drinking water we've enjoyed since the Nixon administration.
Sinrud's language is hyperbole, no more, no less, intended to allow big businesses to dump pollution into our waterways.
The "frivolous" lawsuit language is not terribly offensive, although it's meant to intimidate people from filing suit against development or extraction industries. Given that many of these projects do violate laws or previous agreements, I'm not sure many, if any, would fall under this law.
Montana Environmental Information Center's Jim Jensen puts it best:
"Maybe they believe that lawsuits to protect the environment are frivolous, but if that's their belief, what they are really opposed to is citizens protecting their private property, their families, their health and their communities," Jensen said.
Bingo.
* * *
For a guy who doesn't campaign, John Driscoll sure makes the papers a lot.
In today's report by Matt Gouras, Driscoll gives himself a 50-50 chance of winning the general election:
Driscoll said he expects Obama's plan to run a campaign in Montana will drive up voter turnout among Democrats, which will help his campaign. And Driscoll said he thinks many Republicans are upset with the direction of the country who will be looking for different options and turn to him.
All right, John.
Oh, by the way, I have to take back what I said about Driscoll not campaigning. "I am definitely campaigning and I am definitely serious," says Driscoll in the report. Oh?
For instance, he is leaving this weekend for a backpacking trip in the Bob Marshall Wilderness or the Cabinet Wilderness. Along the way, he says, he will stop in coffee shops and talk to people.
I stand corrected.
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Hey, congratulations to A.J. Rehberg for becoming a Vice President with GAGE, Leo Giacometto's lobbying firm. Here's the kid's bio:
A.J. Rehberg, Vice President, is a recent graduate of Seattle University and brings with him a unique perspective of emerging businesses from around the world. Schooled in International Studies, he acquired a keen understanding of a wide range of issues including: National Defense Policy, East Asian Security, International Trade, International Finance, U.S. Legislative Procedures, USAID and Millennium Corporation. Prior to joining GAGE A.J. has worked for the US Chamber of Commerce and a start up technology firm in Southeast Asia. He also has experience in fundraising, public relations, and event coordination. His responsibilities will focus upon research and opportunity development for commercial clients in the private sector.
Seems a little, er, light on experience. He probably interviews really well. |
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