The Bundys have done Americans a favor. They brought to the attention of the American people the constant threat to our beloved public lands that exists out there in the West. However, the Bundys and other ranchers are small players. It’s the Koch and Wilks brothers, and others in the fossil fuel, timber and mining industry Americans have to be concerned about. The fact that the Kochs have pledged nearly $900M to the coming election should tell Americans how big the threat is.
Here’s the important part. Ted Cruz could be their Manchurian Candidate in the upcoming election. However, his radical views on public lands have largely slipped under the radar, except for one political ad he aired in Nevada. In it, he pledged to "work day and night to give control of Nevada's lands back to its rightful owners, its citizens".
thinkprogress.org/...
Like the Bundys, he's a "wise user". "Wise users" believe the federal government has no Constitutional right to own and manage public lands, and that the lands should be given the the states and private interests and developed to the fullest for their resource potential. Believe it or not, that includes national parks, which they believe should be privatized anyways, run by the likes of Disney.
Utah is a hotbed of “wise users”. Always has been. In 2012, its legislature passed the “Utah Transfer of Public Lands Act”, an ALEC creation demanding that the federal government to turn control of all 31 million acres of public lands in Utah over to the state, including its five national parks. Utah’s legislature recently appropriated $14M to pay a DC based law firm to initiate a lawsuit against the federal government to seize these lands. If pursued, it will no doubt end up in the Supreme Court. One more reason future Supreme Court appointments could be important, and perhaps one more reason why Republicans think the next President should pick Scalia’s replacement. Sen. Orin Hatch (R-UT) is a long time “wise user” and ranking member below Grassley in the Senate Judiciary Committee . Cruz is also a member. Could Utah one day win its suit by the typical 5-4 decisions we’ve seen so often? Other states like Wyoming, Idaho, Arizona, Nevada would quickly follow their lead.
Meanwhile, Representative Rob Bishop (R-UT) has become the chairman of the House Resource Committee and along with Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) has launched the “Public Lands Initiative”, another sneaky ALEC plan to open Utah public lands to the oil and gas industries. The Oil and Gas sector has been his major campaign contributor since 2010. Chaffetz has introduced a bill that would eliminate all law enforcement powers for the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) and National Forest Service, leaving such enforcement to local sheriffs instead, as the Bundys want. Imagine if that happened. People like the Bundys could take over public lands with arms, and local sheriffs, many of whom may be sympathetic to such takeovers would be in charge of doing something about it. Imagine showing up at your favorite public lands in the middle of such a takeover. Other "wise users" in Congress have introduced other bills as well. One from Idaho would allow a state to seize 2M acres of national forests within it’s borders. Boise-Cascade is a big lumber supplier.
This is not the first time there’s been a hidden “wise use” agenda in a Presidential election, or a closet "wise use" Presidential candidate. It all started with the Sagebrush Rebellion in the late ‘70’s – a push back by Westerners and resource and polluting industries against progress in conservation and environmental protection. Unbeknownst to most American, President Reagan was a closet “sagebrush rebel”, as was his infamous Secretary of the Interior, James Watt. At an Idaho Falls rally during the 1980 campaign Reagan told the crowd "The next administration will reflect the values and goals of the Sagebrush Rebellion. Indeed, we can turn the Sagebrush Rebellion into the Sagebrush Solution." That’s why he appointed Watt, and Watt tried to sell off huge tracts of public lands to the private sector. Luckily, the courts stopped him. Another reason why judicial appointments can be so important.
In 1988 there was a convention in Reno, Nevada on "wise use". It was based on a book by Alan Gottlieb called "The Wise Use Agenda" - a 25 point plan for America's public lands and natural resources. Ron Arnold of the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise has been an outspoken proponent of the agenda since then (not to mention Fox contributor). Arnold is quite the anti-environmentalist.
Then there were eight years more of progress in conservation and environmental protection during the Clinton-Gore administration. Clinton establishing the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument really infuriated "wise users" in Utah. With a Gore presidency on the horizon, extracting and polluting industries were feeling really threatened and pushed back hard. The Republicans nominated two oil men, Bush and Cheney, and the industries upped their contributions by an average of 350% over what they'd given Bush Sr. and Dole in previous election cycles.
The day after Bush was given the election by the Supreme Court, the CO governor visited the Texas ranch and told CNN that governors of the Western states were looking forward to “a new brand of conservation in the West”. Translation: the “wise use” agenda. Bush's first appointment was Gayle Norton, the CO Attorney General, to Secretary of Interior. Norton was Watt's protégé at the Rocky Mountain Legal Foundation in CO. That should have been a sign that they were intent on finishing what Watt started, but failed to do. Few Americans realize how much damage Norton did to our public lands while we were all focused on Iraq and the War on Terror. Not to mention that Bush-Cheney stirred us in exactly the opposite direction Gore would have regarding climate change. Now look where we are regarding that.
Now we've had eight years of more progress in conservation and environmental protection under Obama, especially in his second term. "Wise users" are going to push back harder than ever. With global warming/climate change becoming a bigger issue than ever before, they will feel more threatened than ever. It's why the Koch brothers have pledged nearly $900M to the upcoming election. It's why the American Petroleum Institute has launched its "Vote4energy" campaign, and fills the air waves with pro fossil fuel commercials.
Ted Cruz is the next "wise use" wolf in sheep's clothing. Imagine Cruz in the White House intent on making good on his promise to Nevadans. Imagine Utah pursuing its lawsuit all the way to the Supreme Court and Cruz filling Scalia’s vacancy, and perhaps others. Imagine “wise users” in Congress quietly introducing bill after bill from ALEC to turn control of public lands over to the states without much public fanfare or media attention. It’s all a ticket to massive development on public lands, and even mass sell offs to people like the Kochs and Wilks.
Thom Hartmann always says no Republican has won a Presidential election fairly in many decades. Reagan made a deal with Iran to hold the hostages until after the election — they were released on the day of his Inauguration. His very public battle with the “evil empire” was a perfect smokescreen for his “wise use” agenda domestically. Bush supposedly won Florida, his brother’s state, after Kathryn Harris purged 70,000 potential Democratic voters from the voting rolls, and the Supreme Court stopped the recount (which Gore would have won according the the NY Times recount). 2004 saw more shenanigans in Ohio which helped Bush win that state and the election. The War on Terror was a perfect smokescreen for Norton’s “wise use” agenda domestically. The Republican legislatures and governors, whom have been helped by the Kochs in elections, have worked hard to disenfranchise would be Democratic voters under the guise of voter fraud. I fully expect election fraud in the 2016 election given the stakes for “wise users”.
I see a lot of license plates from all over the country when I visit our public lands out West. Tens of millions visit, explore and enjoy our public lands every year, from within and outside the country. If Cruz gets elected, we all may see a lot more "Private property. Keep out. No trespassing" signs the next time we go to visit and enjoy those public lands.