Politically, Environmentalists Here Are Between A Rock And A Hard Place

Idaho finally has become one more subsidiary of America, Inc. The sticky hands of corporate America are stretching out to grab the controls of every social and political structure, forcing them into the fold and under their total control.

I was under the impression, obviously erroneous, that Rep. Helen Chenoweth wasn’t going to seek a third term, citing all sorts of doggerel about election reform. But perhaps her controllers convinced her it would be worth her while to stay another term. After all, the timber and mining interests she holds so near and dear surely have her well indoctrinated by this time.

Chenoweth has always claimed that she is a supporter of the people, especially those employed in the natural resources industries, i.e, mining and timber. However, it appears from her dubious record that the people she has touted such support for are the ones most adversely affected, the ones who can least afford the policies she supports.

She, along with her crony, Don Young of Alaska, chairman of the House Resources Committee, consider environmentalists to be anti-Americans who are attempting to keep us from making as much money as possible now and without any regard to the legacy we will leave our children or the resources that will be lost. Chenoweth is an embarrassment to this state, not only locally, but wherever I travel. In every county, people know her and usually look at me with pity before they say: “Oh, her. Too bad, and with those Nazis up there, how can you live with it?”

I had entertained the hope we might not have to, especially after the trouncing Dan Williams gave her in 1996. Now, those hopes appear to have been dashed as well. Not that he might not actually beat her, it’s just that he appears to have changed his allegiance. In ‘96, Williams was pro-labor (that’s most of us ordinary folks, including those employed in the natural resources industries) and he had strong backing from the Coeur d’Alene Nation due to his more-centrist views about the environment.

Now, I read in The Spokesman-Review that Williams is on record opposing the Environmental Protection Agency’s attempt to look at mining contamination in Lake Coeur d’Alene. He’s also distancing himself from association with labor, which will fit nicely with his new extremist look. It also fits in with certain local Coeur d’Alene pundits, those who have great interest in keeping the city and its citizens on a tight leash.

I am disappointed that someone who worked so closely with Gov. Cecil Andrus should fall prey to corporate greed and manipulation, and I long for the days when I could leave home without the political baggage that always accompanies me and the looks of chagrin that greet me.