LA Times On Kempthorne Nomination: At Least It's Not Pombo

[hatrack]

SAY THIS MUCH FOR President Bush's pick for Interior secretary, Dirk Kempthorne: He's a better choice than Rep. Richard W. Pombo (R-Tracy) would have been. Back in the 1990s, when Kempthorne was a Republican senator representing Idaho, he sought only to weaken the Endangered Species Act, not eviscerate it, as Pombo has advocated.

Kempthorne, now Idaho's governor, is unlikely to differ markedly from outgoing Secretary Gale Norton. And that's too bad. After five years under Norton, who seldom saw a piece of protected wilderness that she thought wouldn't look better with an oil rig on it, the nation could use some Interior redecoration.

EDIT

Though Kempthorne is no greater pal of the environment than Norton, he is seen as a consensus-builder who tried but failed to get environmentalists and industry types in sync on how best to treat endangered species. He's likely to try to cobble together similar agreements if he gets the new job, which seems probable.

That is fine as far as it goes. But it's not enough to have an Interior secretary who is open to protecting the environment only as long as corporate interests like the idea too.

EDIT

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-arctic17mar17,0,6073357.story?coll=la-news-comment-editorials

:evilgrin:

[depakid]

1. And the Dems will approve him

Instead of raising important issues that the public overwhelmingly supports- and highlighting the far right's extremism.