News Bite
Western Senators Form Caucus to Combat, Among Other Things, “Anti-Oil Agenda”
By Courtney Lowery, 6-26-09
Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch says he, his fellow Senator Bob Bennett, Idaho’s Jim Risch and Wyoming’s John Barrasso have created the Western Senate Caucus because: “We have to fight very, very hard to make sure that the West is being treated fairly.”
In an announcement yesterday, the three Senators detailed a plan that Hatch likened to the Sagebrush Rebellion during the Carter years.
Barrasso says in the Salt Lake Tribune: “We believe in Western values, values of rugged individualism, of self-reliance and economic freedom,” said Barrasso. “We oppose the federal intrusion in the everyday lives of the people of our great country. The government should get out of the way of prosperity and liberty.”
The Senators times the formation of the caucus with its introduction of the Clean, Affordable, and Reliable Energy, or CARE, Act, legislation that Hatch described in a press release as, “A comprehensive energy bill… aimed at ensuring that all the energy tools are in place to fuel our economy and fix our nation’s dangerous overdependence on foreign oil.”
Hatch also said in the release, “One of the aims of the Senate Western Caucus is to thwart the anti-oil agenda of the Washington elite and their extreme environmentalist allies, while at the same time promoting alternative energy,” and he referenced Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s decision this week to repeal oil and gas leases in Utah. You can read some of the details of the CARE act on Hatch’s Web site.
Senator Hatch and the ten other Republican Senators who make up this new Western Senate Caucus are simply re-packaging their same old "drill, baby, drill" atavistic agenda. It is primarily the big corporate wish list for opening up more public lands for oil, gas, coal, and oil shale development. They pretend to support alternative energy like solar, wind, and geothermal, but they don't walk their talk because their agenda is so heavily tilted toward promoting and subsidizing fossil fuels. They were largely cheerleaders for the Bush/Cheney energy and public lands policies of the last eight years, and they are vigorous defenders of the status quo. Most Americans voted for change last November, but the Western Senate Caucus represents stay the course. I hope no one is tricked by these "fossil fools."
Comment By Robert Hoskins, 6-26-09This is great news. No doubt our illustrious Western Senators will act promptly to end all federal subsidies to agriculture, mining, drilling, logging, damming, and other natural resource industries, since these subsidies undermine Western values of rugged individualism, self reliance, and economic freedom. Go for it, guys.
RH
My own Wyoming Senator John " Dr. No" Barrasso seems to be the head of this Hegemony of Hypocrites. Be very very wary. Do these guys think they are doing anything new or revolutionary here , or did a moldy copy of the Reagan era Sagebrush Rebellion's Operator's Manual turn up during spring cleaning of the ? I'm glad the Constitution grants no real powers to the self-annointed. The world's most exclusive club used to be the US Senate , but that was Pre-Bush Cheney. Today it's some Asian-Indian-Arab gentlmen's club in Dubai, with valet parking for those personal customized Airbus 380's.
Never mind. I totally concur with Hoskins. When these self annointed western Senators ask their cowboy hatted constituents to give up all their federal subsidies and various state-federal tax breaks for ranching and extractive industries , then I'll give them some due. But only then. Until that happens, I'll continue to c all it what it is : political grandstanding and preaching to their own deusional congregations.
Speaking of oil, these greasy senators are the bottom of the barrel!
Comment By Bill Croke, 6-26-09Well guys, in light of the passage of the Energy bill in the House today (219-212), I advise everybody to make sure you get your wood in next winter. Though you might have to retrofit your chimneys and stovepipes to reduce your carbon footprint. And Dewey, no burning up old back issues of the Boobyprise because all that ink is a pollutant. Paul Hoffman once used the word "toxic", I believe. As for a new Sagebrush Rebellion, I think that would be a great idea. But how could we sell it to the tourists? Let's see. I know: instead of those corny cowboy shootouts popular in tourist towns such as Cody, they could write different scripts starring environmentalists in birkenstocks, and guys dressed like oil rig workers in hard hats, and attorneys in nice gray suits. They could all mix it up in the street and the story would always end ambiguously. The tourists would be clueless but in the end enjoy having their pictures taken with the actors, especially those lawyers with their shiny, brown briefcases.
Comment By Montucky, 6-27-09I love the contribution to alternative energy: an electric Hummer! Add some wings and you will see a pig fly.
Comment By James Boldebuck, 6-27-09Way to go you Western Senators. Its about time someone in Washington used their heads for a change. I wish a few more of their neighbors would join like Texas. I wish someone would tell them to wear their cowboy hats in the senate. Rick and his friends can continue to wear their "beanies" and act like the children they were designed for.
Comment By flounder, 6-27-09Robert, my sentiments exactly.
If we raised prices for lumber to market rates and adjusted the fees for cattle grazing on public land from their 1920's era prices, and got rid of all the tax breaks that allow the ranchers and oilmen to drive around in giant trucks and live in big homes without ever paying taxes on them, the "rugged individualists" would be crying for Uncle Sam to come to their rescue within a week.
Good grief, the past eight years have seen unbelievably massive damage to the strength and position of the United States as a global power, not by outside terrorists, but through the rash, thoughtless, arrogant, but incredibly incompetent, policies and responses of the Bush/Cheney Administration. Yet, we still have morons advocating more "Texanism" as being helpful?
Comment By James Boldebuck, 6-29-09Real Mike:
After the first six months of destroying our country to live up to some election promises to supporters like you most of which are union dues paying blind supporters of a democrat party that has done nothing for them , this president will hold a record that even Jimmy Carter couldn't break. You have been taken in by people who would do very well in the "infomercial" field.
Like I said, James, only you would continue advocating "Texanism" at a time like this and after the results we've already seen. I guess you still think Tom DeLay was on the right track?
Comment By James Boldebuck, 6-30-09Mike
If Tom Delay was as bad as was reported he would be in prison. He would not even show up on the scale compared to politics in Chicago,New York, Kansas City, Louisiana and other places two numerous to mention.
Until we have term limits in all forms of government to prevent the forming of the power structures on both sides of the aisle , all the people will not be represented.
under Bushit the only "people "represented had names like EXXon, BP, and Haliburton
Comment By James Boldebuck, 7-09-09Jeff E
First you would have a very hard time proving your statement in a debate or otherwise. You evidently believe all your hear from the left handed folks.
Second , what do you think you will get under Obama and all his Czars that will improve your way of life and all the other folks that were not represented under George W ?
Third, please check out the sources who are telling us we have a hundred year supply of natural gas that the libs are blocking companies from exploring.