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November 22, 2009 09:33 PM UTC

"Cowboy Colonel" Throws Hat in CD3 Ring

  • 6 Comments
  • by: ClubTwitty

The Steamboat Pilot has an op-ed from Bob McConnell, the newest entry into the Third CD race against incumbent John Salazar.  

It’s a bit bizarre, to put it mildly, talking about fish in California and non-existent policy ‘threats’ to power lines.  

McConnell–who calls himself the ‘Cowboy Colonel’– starts off with a pitch for more logging, oil and gas, and coal mining jobs and decries unemployment figures, blaming Salazar for the decline of one and the rise of the other.

Recall that on Feb. 7 of last year, John Salazar “hailed” the stimulus package, saying, “I hope the president signs this bill to send the message that help is on the way.” “Trust us,” we have been told. “Help is on the way. We know how to create good green jobs. Help is on the way.”

So, what was the news today? Roll the drums, sound the trumpets. Well, the news is not good. Help has not arrived. Unemployment has now reached 10.2 percent, the highest since April 1983.

Well, actually, Colorado just reported the third month in decline of unemployment numbers, now the lowest they have been since last January.

McConnell continues:

…President Barack Obama has announced he will encourage Congress to extend unemployment benefits, again.

The answer to record-breaking unemployment is not another stimulus package, and it is not spending more money on unemployment benefits.

So, what is it?  Apparently mucking with Free Market forces to compel more oil and gas development, making our economy more reliant on notoriously volatile commodities and extractive industries.

McConnell then blasts the protection of roadless areas, an issue he apparently knows little about, although that does not stop him from opining:

If I were your congressman today, I would go to Obama and get an exception to his roadless initiative so we can log the 2 million acres of dead trees we have north of Interstate 70.

Colorado has 4.4 million acres of roadless National Forests–Mr. McConnell wants to build roads into and log approximately half, waxing:  

Let us create jobs cutting logging roads, cutting dead trees, hauling dead trees, milling dead trees, selling lumber and hauling lumber.

Perhaps Mr. McConnell is unaware tat these undeveloped lands protect our watersheds–as well as those of several other states–and provide critical wildlife habitat and security areas.  Hunting is a multi-billion dollar boost to Colorado’s economy every year, although Mr. McConnell seems unaware, imagining that people would rather recreate in clear cuts:

The question is, do we create jobs cutting them, or do we let them fall on hundreds of miles of high power lines? Do we let them fall on and kill hikers and skiers and snow machine drivers, all of whom spend money enjoying these sports?

Perhaps Mr. McConnell is not aware that only 12 percent (about 75, not hundreds of, miles) of the power lines needing such work are inside roadless areas, and that the Roadless Rule allows clearing of power line right of ways and other work to ensure public safety, as recent activity in Routt County and elsewhere clearly demonstrate.  

And then it gets really weird.

We need a congressman with the courage to stand up for working people over dead trees, smelts and pale sturgeons.

Smelts?  Pale sturgeons?  Does Mr. McConnell understand that the ‘delta smelt’ is not in Colorado (it’s in California) nor is the ‘pale sturgeon’?  

We need a congressman with the courage to stand up for working people who have the skills and the determination to feed their families. Instead, just three weeks ago, Salazar introduced a bill to expand the size of wilderness areas in Western Colorado. Wake up, John. We don’t need more wilderness areas right now; we need jobs.

Does Mr. McConnell know that each of the counties and many of the local governments with public lands in Mr. Salazar’s San Juan bill endorsed the proposal, as noted by local and statewide media, including the Telluride Watch?  

“San Miguel, Ouray and San Juan county representatives have expressed their hope that a portion of the natural lands that surround them will be given a wilderness designation for future generations. These are the lands which define the character and spirit of our great state and nation and as such, it is my honor today to introduce the San Juan Mountains Wilderness Bill,” Salazar said in a written statement upon introducing the bill last Thursday.

The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

In addition to the three counties, the towns of Mountain Village, Norwood, Ophir, Ouray, Ridgway and Telluride also supported the bill, which if approved by Congress would provide permanent protection for some of Colorado’s most renowned views and mountains including the slopes of Mt. Sneffels and Wilson Peak.

Does Mr. McConnell care that the jobs in these areas are directly related to protected public lands?

I guess not.

I am Bob McConnell, the Cowboy Colonel. Nobody owns me, and they never will. I will stand up for you, the people of Western Colorado.

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6 thoughts on ““Cowboy Colonel” Throws Hat in CD3 Ring”

  1. In Sept. I went to the San Juans and camped, fished, and hiked into wilderness areas, climbed a 14’er. Spent money in South Fork, Lake City, Creede, and other places there. I wouldn’t have gone there if I couldn’t have hiked into the Weminuche and visited the land as my Creator made it and drank the most delicious water I ever tasted coming out of a spring in the wilderness.

    This is the only planet you or I or Mr. McConnell will ever live on. And we damn well better start treating it that way. There ain’t no spaceship that’s going to take us away when its all gone.  

  2. Glad I have gotten your attention.  Now we can engage in the process that makes progress-spirited discussion of the issues. Cowboys, and Colonels, and miners, and loggers all have one thing in common, they are people.  Many have families.  Many are hurting. I wrote the book about protecting mountain resources,Gentle Expeditions-A Guide to Ethical Mountain Adventure. While it appears we disagree on present priorities, I bet we share some common values. Come to one of my town hall meetings and let’s see where we agree and disagree. Enjoy a safe and blessed Thanksgiving with those you love.  Remember our troops, proud to stand in harms way so that we can celebrate in safety.

    1. Environmentalists, tree-huggers, folks concerned about protecting landscapes they care about, and others concerned about contaminants in their water sources–like the poor poisoned hunting outfitter near Parachute that still hasn’t had his toxic well dealt with are people too.  

      Post your schedule here when you will be out and around the 3rd CD. I’ll try to stop by somewhere and hear what you have to say.  I am glad people run for office, civic service is a good thing, but you are probably right about that we probably disagree on present priorities.  

      1. If we do run into each other please make sure you introduce yourself, and thanks for being open to debate.  I’m in Parachute tomorrow (Saturday) and Alamosa next week.  My schedule can be found through the website and you can always feel free to e-mail me directly at bob@mcconnellforcongress.com.

        And hey if you have any clue what it takes to get me on the CO 3rd radar on this site, let me know.  My staff has had no luck at all.  Thanks again.

        1. based on facts–rather than rhetoric–I will consider putting it on the Front Page.

          Your piece in the Steamboat Pilot, as my diary points out, is based on falsehoods (for example, only 12% of the powerlines in beetle killed areas intersect with roadless areas, and discretion already exists to allow treatment here under the 2001 Roadless Rule).  

          I am also interested in hearing how you reconcile polling that shows strong support for the FRAC Act with your stance on less regulation for the oil and gas industry; or how most of the local governments in Garfield County want the Roan Plateau protected with your position.

          Consider, also, that the regions most dependent on resource extraction are suffering worse in the recession than those places with more diverse economies–specifically, how will making the 3rd CD more reliant on fossil fuel extraction make our region more secure, economically, over the long run.

          I look forward to your reasoned response to these questions, and will certainly promote a well-thought out diary that you–or your staff–provide.  I like sourced citations, studies and other supporting materials.  Having those linked in your diary will help get it promoted.  

          Thanks for engaging the debate.

    2. Thanks for your reply. Spirited discussion about the issues is what we need, and that is the purpose of this forum. This is why the Founders made sure the First Amendment was put in the Constitution, and why they thought it was important enough to make it the First.

      I lived in South Fork for a couple of years, so I have done more than visited the area.

      Of course jobs are important, and the economy is bad right now (you don’t have to tell me, I’m in the construction and housing business and I’m just barely hanging on). But we can’t destroy our environment just to create a few jobs. I happen to believe we must rationally use our natural resources and that protecting the environment and growing the economy are not mutually exclusive.

      I have lived in Colorado for 25 years so I qualify as a “semi-native”, but I am originally from western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh area). I grew up in a place where industry (steel mills, coal mines, etc.)was unchecked by any concern for the environment. Unhealthy polluted air, industrial waste (slag dumps) scarring the land, dead streams caused by acid drainage from the miles of abandoned coal mines, and mine subsidence causing damage to buildings (in PA, it is state law that land deeds contain a warning about this to the buyers of property).

      The companies and people who made their profits exploiting the environment are long gone, but the earth shall abideth forever.

      Yes, we need energy (and we will continue to use carbon based fuels as we transition to clean, renewable energy sources), and we need jobs, but those must never come at the expense of destroying our environment and wasting our finite natural resources.  

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