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May 14, 2009 01:58 AM UTC

Republicans, Oil Industry Messing With Salazar

  • 20 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

As the Denver Post reports, it was good to be a Senator, but:

Senate Republicans blocked an end-run attempt to confirm David Hayes as Deputy Secretary of Interior in a contentious vote this morning, handing his potential future boss, Ken Salazar, a significant political defeat.

Salazar called the vote “the height of cynicism” and testily defended his attempts “to clean up mess after mess” left behind by Bush appointees who led the department for eight years.

The confirmation of Hayes has become a flashpoint in a growing battle over the direction Salazar has taken as head of Interior, reversing key Bush administration decisions on oil shale, the fast-tracking off shore drilling, the Endangered Species Act and other issues.

Majority leader Harry Reid had attempted to invoke cloture on Hayes confirmation, requiring a super 60-vote majority, but the vote failed in the face of several Democratic absences and near unanimous Republican opposition…

This goes back to a decision Salazar made in early February to cancel oil and gas leases near national parks and other ecologically sensitive places in Utah–leases approved by the Bush administration. Salazar’s move was praised by environmentalists both in Utah and elsewhere; but it greatly upset the oil industry, and Utah’s Sen. Robert Bennett (note spelling)–Senators have a great deal of power in this situation, as Salazar knows well.

Salazar has encountered more trouble from Senate Republicans getting his top staff confirmed than most other departments, a fact that’s directly attributable to his swift moves to undo the worst of the Bush administration’s energy policies. It’s too bad this isn’t as sexy a political story now that Salazar is Interior Secretary instead of a Senator, and we’re surprised to not be seeing the enviros, local or national, jumping up to defend Salazar and his appointees from the Robert Bennetts of the world–he probably needs their help now more than ever.

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20 thoughts on “Republicans, Oil Industry Messing With Salazar”

  1. …when 3 members of the caucus are missing?

    Also, I should note that Salazar’s fighting with Senate Repubs right now won’t help his (theoretical) chances at Souter’s seat!

    1. I believe that oil will head back to roughly the 80-100 dollar per barrel range in another year.

      Oil companies will make huge profits.

      They have a very strong lobby and deep pockets.

      1. from the gang of 14?  What did they ever do for their Dem colleagues but agree  not to go to the nuclear option if the Dems in the group would agree not to filibuster their nominee so they wouldn’t need to.  Such a deal.  

        Poor Salazar. Grassroots Dems are constantly getting pissed off at him and the handful of even halfway moderate Rs left still take their orders from their far right leadership. Reid is an idiot.

    4. Normally these sort of appointments are approved by voice vote.  Filibustering the deputy secretary is a new kind of obstructionist move.

      In any case, Reid changed his vote so he can bring up the confirmation again.  He’ll probably wait until the errant Senators are back and get it done.

  3. He’s fumbling to give Bob Bennett what he wants now. Schooled, coward! Maybe you should let Americans have their domestic energy and prosperity back!

    1. Secretary Salazar’s influence on the production of domestic natural gas, to date, is on the order of one iota.

      There is a glut of natural gas because (1) producers have been on a drilling spree the last few years, (2) several new shale gas plays with tremendous reserves are being exploited, and (3) because of the downturn in the economy, demand has fallen.

      Check out this Stockhouse.com re-publication of a WSJ report.

      But new technologies and a drilling boom have helped production rise 11% in the past two years. Now there’s a glut, which has driven prices down to a six-year low and prompted producers to temporarily cut back drilling and search for new demand.

      and

      The weakening economy eroded demand for both oil and gas. Natural gas, unlike oil, suffered from a supply glut. (Emphases added.)

      This much is obvious: we can produce more natural gas than we can use right now for the next several years.

      Thus, we don’t need to drill right next to our National Parks in order to swim in domestic energy and prosperity.

      Get a clue, GOP”warrior”. I think Wal-mart is having a sale this week.

    2. Is it the anonymous jerk who calls other people cowards, or a man who’s served his country tirelessly for decades? (Hint: it’s you!)

  4. Was this about the presence or absence of two Democratic senators? The whims of Arlen Specter?

    Or was this another example of a bigger problem: how Senate procedures make a mockery of “democratic” majoritarian government.

    The vote was 57-39. Majority? Seems like it, but in the new math, short of 60 votes needed to avoid a future filibuster. As I said earlier elsewhere:

    This is further evidence, for those who think they need more, of how Senate procedural rules are misused constantly to thwart the operations of the Executive chosen by a majority of the people, and further evidence (as if any were needed) of why the Senate should be trimmed back, waaaay back, to an advisory role akin to the House of Lords.

  5. He’s doing things that he knows will piss-off the Republicans, but they’re the right thing to do. And instead of getting along with the Senate and leaving things a mess, he’s choosing the tougher road and making the decisions needed to clean things up.

    I think this reflects very well on Salazar.

    2. of support for Ken. You may not like his style, but to call him a coward is just bad form. He has consistently stood up to bullying from the O&G boys and has worked to undo the rape of the Rocky Mountain west by Bushco, Inc. and the “Club for Growth”. That is why they hate him so much.

  6. H/T Rocky Mountain Right

    Back in June of 2007, Salazar blocked the confirmation of Bush’s appointment to the Bureau of Land Management, saying, “I’m doing it because of the fact the Department of the Interior and BLM have not been responsive in not allowing at least 120 days for Gov. (Bill) Ritter and others to review the Roan management plan” (http://tinyurl.com/q9kx5k).

    1. and relevant laws, such as the Mineral Leasing Act, Federal Lands Policy and Management Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and Administrative Procedures Act you would not make this claim.  The matters at hand and background, legal authorities, roles of states (as co-operating agency in one instance and as not-a-party at all in the other) are substantively differnt,

      Not that facts, laws, authorities, and other tangibles mean much to you.  But if they did, you should know you have no clue what you are talking about.    

  7. In Colorado, oil companies have been recklessly rushing to tap into our state’s oil shale resources.  Secretary Salazar is working to ensure that these reserves are tapped safely and responsibly, after research and improvements to the production process.  For this, he deserves a big thank you!

    Send a letter to Secretary Salazar thanking him for his hard work to protect Colorado’s environmental and public health here: http://ga6.org/campaign/salaza…

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