May 15, 2009 12:52 AM UTC

Army Throws "McLobbyist" Under Tank Treads

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• by: Colorado Pols

As the Denver Post reports:

The Army has given up attempts to acquire land for expanding the Piñon Canyon training site in the next year, shifting the money that had been allocated for the purpose to other uses, according to congressional and Army sources.

Originally, Army budget makers had planned to allocate $17 million in fiscal 2010 for land acquisition associated with Piñon Canyon, a line item consistent with public statements made by Army officials as recently as this month that the controversial expansion is still a priority.

But faced with a push-back from Congress and a so-far unsuccessful strategy focused on leasing land, that money was re allocated to military construction at Fort Polk, La., in the budget’s final version, those sources said.

The Army still has wiggle room in the way it can spend funds for military construction, but experts say the move is a clear signal that the Army is backing off any effort to buy land to expand the facility, at least in the near term…

Gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis shocked observers earlier this month by publicly calling for Governor Bill Ritter to veto a bill, supported by upcoming primary opponent Josh Penry, to prohibit the sale of state lands to the Army for this expansion. McInnis took this risky position in hopes of gaining traction in military-friendly El Paso County, important to any GOP statewide primary–at the cost of enraging all the other conservatives in Colorado who defend private property rights with ideological conviction.

And now, McInnis has got absolutely nothing to show for his gamble.