|
 It was Wild Wilderness that drew the media's attention to the efforts of the American Recreation Coalition to influence Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and to lobby him to expedite the confirmation of their long-time friend and reliable proponent of industrial wreckreation, Lyle Laverty, to the number three spot within the Department of Interior.
The blogosphere is abuzz with this story and the Daily Kos has gone so far as to publish a piece which has now drawn 180 comments. The piece is titled "Should Harry Reid be deposed as Majority Leader?" More than 90% of readers have voting against Reid. To get a sense of the anger being expressed, read the comments.
Or, more easily, read the appended Editorial which appeared in today's Willamette Weekly. It is titled "Harry Reid - Gutless Weasel".
I'd just add that Reid is suffering a well deserved fate. Stabbing fellow Democrat Wyden in the back and sucking up to the wise-use American Recreation Coalition was definitely the wrong move. Allowing Laverty's confirmation to occur was a complete disaster and for this, and the damage Laverty will do within the DOI, Harry Reid will forever be accountable.
Scott
--- begin quoted ---
November 7, 2007
Harry Reid - Gutless Weasel
By Willamette Weekly Editorial Staff
The Rogue desk reserves special scorn for cowards.
Last week in a move that rightly infuriated the lefty blogosphere,
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) showed himself an unusually
craven backstabber. His victim: a fellow Democrat, Oregon Sen. Ron
Wyden.
Since March, Wyden had stalled the confirmation of a Bush appointee to
the Interior Department. The Denver Post nailed the appointee,
ex-Colorado parks director Lyle Laverty, for his “penchant for personal
perks,” like buying a riding horse with $5,000 in public funds and
selling it to a relative at cost.
While Wyden was in Portland for the Oct. 26 birth of his twins, Reid
took advantage of Wyden’s absence and allowed Laverty’s confirmation to
proceed, the AP reported.
Since Wyden’s office is constrained from speaking frankly, we will. The
only way Reid could’ve sunk lower was by stealing the babies’
pacifiers.
Reid’s move undercut Wyden’s probe of Interior Department corruptions.
Wyden was investigating damage wrought by Julie MacDonald, Laverty’s
predecessor as head of fish, wildlife and parks. MacDonald was given to
rewriting scientists’ reports on endangered species, including the
marbled murrelet, a rare seabird that nests in old-growth Oregon
forests.
“The environmental community has not always gotten along with Sen.
Wyden. But in this case he put his neck on the chopping block,” says
Steve Pedery of Oregon Wild.
Enviros assume Reid caved because he cut some kind of deal with the
administration. He also met on Sept. 11 with the American Recreation
Coalition, which lobbied for Laverty. Reid spokesman Jim Manley
declined comment.
Wyden’s office isn’t raising a stink. And talking to Wyden’s staff
about Reid’s betrayal is “like talking to someone who’s reading a
prepared statement with a weapon pointed at them,” as Pedery puts it.
Wyden’s chief of staff, Josh Kardon, says Wyden will keep prying into departmental “corruption.”
|
- Activism 
