November 22, 2009 09:33 PM UTC

"Cowboy Colonel" Throws Hat in CD3 Ring

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• 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.