| The state Land Board will vote on Monday, December 22, to approve the Otter Creek coal tracts in southeastern Montana.
The background information, issues and elaborations have been outlined and expounded elsewhere. There is no need now to regurgitate all of it here.
Suffice it to say that the vote on Monday represents a choice about Montana's energy future.
Supporters argue a 'yes' vote is a vote for jobs and economic development in an economically depressed region. This position also references the fact that the revenues from the coal mining go to fund education.
Opponents of a 'yes' vote make the environmental/ stewardship arguments. Opponents supplement their position by referencing the preponderance of scientific data making the connection between coal combustion and elevated carbon and climate change and global warming.
Unfortunately, none of the compelling information affects the vote. It won't be about responsible public policy. It will be about politics, plain and simple.
Each member has made up her or his mind.
And, the vote will be 4 'Yes' and 1 'No.'
Analysis of the votes below the fold. |
| Governor Brian Schweitzer. The Coal Cowboy? Are you kidding? His political life's breath comes from polls and the internet. Polls are favorable to coal development and there is far more chatter favoring the leases. He fancies himself as a maverick. Unlike most Democrats, in 2004, he ran to the left to get elected and has run to the right to govern. All of his support for mining and converting coal came after he was elected. Now the day of reckoning is here. 'Clean coal' or not, Brian, as the only lame duck casting a vote, is a 'Yes.' He will shrug his shoulders and use the lame argument that lease opportunity itself does not ensure the coal will actually be mined. As a realist, he has concluded that has nothing to lose in western Montana and a favorable vote sets him up in eastern Montana for a run for the US Senate in 2013.
Yes, 2013. The day he leaves Governor's Office, the campaign for Baucus' seat begins in earnest.
Secretary of State Linda McCulloch. Linda has been on the Land Board for 9 years, eight as Superintendent of Public Instruction. On balance, her votes have tended to support natural resource development and extraction. Joe Lamson and her advisers have reminded her that she won by just over 5,000 votes and if she intends to run for re-election, she needs to buttress her base in eastern Montana.
Here is what she said last week: " . . . But there's a lot of sides to this. Number one, we have to fund the schools. There are jobs, good-paying jobs associated with this. There's also issues about renewable resources and stewardship of the land."
Kids and jobs first (and, then, that stewardship stuff)? No doubt. "Yes."
Attorney General Steve Bullock. Beat his opponent, Tim Fox, by about 25,000 votes. If he decides to stay put and run for re-election in 2012, there's a good chance Fox will be back. Bullock won largely because of votes in western Montana (amassing a 17,000 vote difference in Missoula County alone). Here again, the vote will hinge on how it would affect his re-election. A "Yes" vote helps him in eastern Montana. If Fox runs again, western Montana voters will hold their noses and still vote for Steve. If, on the other hand, he decides to move on and run for Governor in 2012, a "Yes" vote will be a source of opposition in the primary. Safe vote. "Yes."
State Auditor Monica Lindeen. Remember, Monica is from Yellowstone County. As a legislator, she was attentive to her constituents and tended to be coal and resource extraction friendly. Won election by 32,000 votes, including a 5,000 vote margin in Yellowstone County. No way she strikes out on her own now. Besides, with Walt Schweitzer serving as her chief advisor, the advice is damned the environmental establishment. "Yes."
Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau. Between a rock and hard place. Yes, there is money to be had for the education of kids. But, there is the issue of stewardship. The Northern Cheyenne are divided on the leases. Denise has a lot of political capital to work, having won by 33,000 votes. Given Denise's heritage, she takes a tough vote. "No."
The vote means the coal is mined, eventually.
Those voting "Yes" will insist the laws will protect us and future generations against environmental calamities. Besides, the carbon from a half billions tons of coal is only marginally significant compared to there rest of the coal being mine and burned on the planet, right?
And, the long awaited economic prosperity for eastern Montana? Oh, it's just around the corner. Industry and government will see to that. Just like Appalachia.
And, so it begins. |
