LA Times: In the 2012 campaign, environmentalists don’t matter

A spot on Editorial from the LA Times:

In the 2012 campaign, environmentalists don’t matter – LA Times Editorial

Shortly after his party’s “shellacking” in the midterm election, President Obama ordered government agencies to ensure that new regulations took economic growth into consideration and that old ones be revoked if they “stifle job creation or make our economy less competitive.” Five months later, it’s becoming pretty clear what he meant: The environment and public health will be thrown under a bus for the sake of his reelection in 2012.

48 thoughts on “LA Times: In the 2012 campaign, environmentalists don’t matter

  1. Yep…On environmental issues of land and species protection…he is a total bust. Hate to say it, but the record doesn’t lie.

  2. The reason the Democrats lost the midterms was because the people that originally supported Obama stayed home when they discovered that he lied about everything he was going to change

    1. I totally agree with this, and am one of them. I refuse to participate in this charade. WHEN WILL WE GET A TRUE THIRD PARTY??? WHAT MORE IS NEEDED THAN TWO PARTIES WITH NO APPROVAL RATINGS! As for throwing the environment under the diesel tractor to get re-elected, Obama is just Clinton in face-black (remember the Salvage Rider?). I hope that doesn’t sound racist — it’s meant to be ironic, because Barry doesn’t really care about African Americans any more than he cares about wildlife.

  3. Yesterday, someone from the DCCC called me wanting money to fight the rethugiican adds being paid for by the big corporations, Koch brothers, etc. I told him in no uncertain terms I would not be giving money to the Democratic party again until I see them fighting for what I believe in – wildlife and environmental issues, protecting Medicare, Social Security, the wars, etc., etc. He said to me, “I know you are hurt” and I cut him off. I told him I wasn’t hurt, I was pissed off and I am hoping that every other Democrat he called told him the same thing. They have a lot of nerve asking for support when Obama and the D’s do not support what we expected them to support and were told they would support. I don’t think he will call me again.

  4. I feel the same way, Virginia. I worked for two Senators campaigns here in Colorado in the past three years, and I won’t be doing that again unless they start voting the way they campaigned; rhetoric in e-mails is cheap. I want votes and proactive advocacy, not platitudes and excuses…Hopefully, the Obama campaign will pay attention to conversations like yours, and emails and letters telling them the greens can’t be taken for granted anymore.

    1. Dream on! Obama listen to us “f*ck*n retards”? He has written us off, and has gone rogue — as in Republican. That’s his strategy — to out-Republican the Republicans, starting with endless war and killing Osama. The only candidates I would support in 2012 would be a Nader/Moore ticket.

      1. Calm down, Tom. I believe you are quoting Rahm Emanual, not Obama. And, yes, your rant sounds racist to me and your candidate choice is ridiculous.

      2. Dang Tom, Nader/Moore? I would like to see them on the Democratic ticket!

        So, the Republicans do not want to appear racist when bashing Obummer

      3. Dang Tom, Nader/Moore? I would like to see them on the Democratic ticket!

        The Republicans do not want to appear racist when bashing Obummer during the election, so the GOP ticket will include Allen West and Michelle Bachman (Not sure which will be VP). This is a guarantee, and they will win! Bachman in the White House? Yup, Mark my words.

  5. Problem is that they look at us and say, “OK, if they don’t vote for us who are they going to vote for?” They know we won’t vote Republican (most of the time anyway), and they know that we know that if we stay home it is the same thing as voting Republican. They also know that if we vote for Tom’s ticket it is also a vote for the Republicans, as in 2000.
    What we have to do is find they right people and encourage them to run as Democrats, because like it or not we have a two party system and that’s not likely to change anytime soon. A third party has two chances of winning the White House, “slim” and “none”. All a third party does is divide the vote as the Greens did in 2000 and, hopefully, as the teas do in 2012 (even though not actually a third party, they are as good as one).

  6. I won’t be voting for Obama in 2012. Wildlife/environment is my top issue and he’s been terrible.

    1. It’s my top issue as well Mike. The people that they say are running or might be running for president in 2012, none of them seem to care about the environment or wildlife.

    2. “I won’t be voting for Obama in 2012. Wildlife/environment is my top issue…”
      I agree, but then you ask the question, “Will Obama, who no longer has to care about re-election, be better or worse than a Newt Gingrich or a Sarah Palin who does?” If we don’t find a viable alternative, and even if we do and they fail to win the nomination, then we have to accept that staying home is a default vote for the Republican. In essense, we can’t complain about whatever he or she does. I’m not answering the question, just posing it.

  7. Time to take a deep breath on this one, and think. I’m not impressed with much that Obama has done, but he also inherited a mess unlike any other president since perhaps Roosevelt (FDR). I would find it tough to vote for him again, but as someone with a bit more insight pointed out in the past, who do you want appointing people to the Supreme Court?

    To sound the heretic, perhaps wildlife is not high on the administrations to do list, when so much other “stuff” is so important. I am not trying to defend the decisions made, but are they relativley matter of fact?

    1. Too true, Treue. Do we want another Roberts or another Sotomayer? Consequences could be far reaching, well into the future. Even into the administration of a wildlife friendly President. They could be deciding the constitutionality of “the rider”, or a future rider.
      Start locally. Find someone you believe in and get them elected. Who knows? Maybe they will be President one day?

      1. Alan, I agree with your last point. Rather than pour any money down the National Democratic Party rathole, we’ll be giving our donations directly to candidates who have demonstrated their worth, such as Martin Heinrich, currently the First District Congress critter from New Mexico. He is running in a contested primary for the nomination for the Senate seat being vacated by the retiring Jeff Bingaman. His record on conservation issues is excellent.

    2. Good point, but he has the option to “offload” by hiring pro-conservation heads of the Interior and USDA. At that point these people focus on the work. There’s really no excuse for his actions. He hired the wrong people.

  8. The organization that really runs the U.S. is holding it’s annual meeting this weekend in Washington D.C. It is AIPAC and every member of congress and Obama will be at the AIPAC meeting, pledging allegiance to Israel and their supporter’s agendas. We are fighting four wars (Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Libya) for these folks and they are pushing for us to take on Iran as well.
    Both parties (Democrats and Republicans ) are controlled by the bankers and other very rich that belong to this organization. (We have the best government that AIPAC can buy). They want their money spent on wars for Israel, not on the environment.

  9. committee for a safe and wolf free idaho

    This is an organization run by an extremist named Mike Popp. He is a hunter and outfitter from Idaho. Typical garbage you’d expect to see on an anti-wolf website. Misinformation and scare tactics is all these extremists use.

    http://wolffreeidaho.org/

    1. From his website

      “The Canadian Grey wolves are extreme predators in the wild, and the newborn elk and moose calves, and deer fawns are no exception to their predatory instincts. These wolves follow the elk herds at calving time and kill the calves as fast as they are born, and even before they are dropped they attack the mother and rip the baby out of her womb, as is often the case, killing both mother and her calf. This is not nature running its course. This is wildlife abuse. View the videos of beautiful fawns and calves in their first moments of life on planet earth, and you decide.”

      This guy is a hunter/outfitter and it seems as if he don’t know squat about nature. Wolves killing other animals is wildlife abuse? Right.

      1. And as I stated before… so they are supposed to go to the grocery store and buy their meat in celophane packaging then go home and eat at a table using knives and forks. This crackpot sounds like he needs to get some reality in his world. Guess he never considered where veal comes from…?

  10. Now both the Democratic and Republican Parties are nothing but bought out, sold out and For the International Bankers and the Corporate Bigwigs. Now all this other is only charades for them. I know of alot of Conservatives who are just as mad at the Republican Party as the Environmentalists are mad at the Democratic Party. Now neither party represents or has the interests of the American People at heart. As for myself, I quit voting for the lesser of two evils a long time ago. Can’y you see that both parties plays the American People in many a issue as nothing but fools. And when will the American People wake up and really see what is happening. Just my two cents worth.

    1. Indeed. Most folks are still too distracted with the latest gadget or sex scandal to pay much attention to how they can put an end to this charade. I also think that it’s a little too late for most of us to turn this crap around and reclaim our rights etc… Even those who do care about this stuff and have wealth are silenced by those who own everything else… like the corporate media. We have been doing a slow-mo dive off a very tall cliff and, now, some can see that it is an abyss from which only supernatural forces can rescue humankind… and not very likely to happen unless, of course, you expect something like a “rapture” event.

      I gave up on capitalism years ago and I think it’s time to expect that the US of A is soon to be a chapter in history and not much else. It certainly isn’t a working model anymore.

      Maybe the “rapture” thing did happen only those who expected to be swept up weren’t of the worthiness they imagined and so we are still stuck with them and their fantasies. Maybe it was only for the animal kingdom and humans somehow anticipated that they were the worthy species. There seems to be no shortage of human hubris and ignorance and the more those with rational intellect are sidelined because they don’t buy the bull takes place, the more of this insanity we are likely to be forced to endure.

      1. The Tea Party came about due to the current state of politics. Why don’t you guys join the Tea Party? They are awesome. They don’t give a crap if they are relected to another term in office. Now that is serving the people and not the lobbyists. I don’t really agree on some of the social things they are trying to do, but damn do these Tea Baggers have cajones when it comes to the fiscal stuff. Even John Boner is shaking in his panties, and probably crying in the background over the lack of compromise.

      2. Wolf Moderate-
        Where were these tea partiers before there was a black president? Before Obama when the Republicans raised the debt ceiling 7 times in 8 years? While the Republicans doubled the deficit from 5 trillion to almost 11 trillion and added hundreds of billions in not paid for tax cuts and unfunded wars? Now they want to take the country back? From who? They are bogus.

      3. I thought we had a bi-racial president. If i recall he is half white and he aligns himself with his white half it seems. What has he done for the african american community? How about the LGBT Community? Guantanamo? Iraq? Afghanistan?

        Cornel West, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton all hate Obama.

        Now I admit that “we” were hoodwinked by the Bush Administration, but at least he did what he said…or at least tried. Obama flat out lies.

        The Tea Party came about around the time of TARP and the GM bailouts. Working Americans had had enough of big Government and the rise of the Nanny State. It has nothing to do with Obama being bi-racial. Nice try though. Even the blacks hate him. Even The Gay’s hate him. Even the Environmentalists hate him. So because working class whites hate him it’s racial? It couldn’t be because he’s a liar and borderline socialist?

      4. Sorry, I’m cynical about the Tea Party. I see it as just one more dead-end reactionary group. We’ve seen these before — angry people who think everything will work out if we can just take control from the existing politicians and “let the people rule”. That’s basically the model California runs on where most laws are made by ballot initiative, with the legislature largely sidelined, and anybody with enough money can get the constitution changed. There’s an excellent article on California’s people-power democracy in a recent “Economist” magazine. It turns out from surveys, that Californians in general, and particularly the older, longer-established Californians, don’t understand much of anything about their state’s spending, funding sources, etc. — i.e. the basic elements of the basic problem they are trying to fix, while they vote alternately for initiatives requiring (a) increased spending and (b) tax cuts or limits. Individually, these same Californians vehemently assert that they are well-informed, contrary to all collective evidence.

        I agree wholeheartedly that our politicians are way too bought off by special (mostly wealthy) interests, but it’s mainly because those same interests are able to sedate and brainwash enough of us to perpetuate it — and recently the Supreme Court has validated their right to spend what it takes to do that.

        My best hope regarding this fiscal mess is that politicians of good will from across the spectrum would band together and produce and build support for a plan that focuses on reality — basically economic science to work our way back to more solid ground before the whole thing sinks and we can’t do anything more than pay the by-then spiking interest rates on the debt while printing all the money used to fund annual operations. The deficit commission was a good but largely ignored attempt. The “Gang of Six” was another, until the key Republican (Coburn) pulled out as even 3 dollars of cuts for every dollar of new tax revenue was getting too hot for him. Republicans are working with one hand tied behind their backs because most have apparently signed Grover Norquist’s pledge while having long-repeated the mantra “tax cuts always pay for themselves.” It’s very likely, if you’re talking starting at a corporate tax rate of 90% — probably not if it’s a 15% tax rate on wealthy savers (current capital gain and dividend cap).

        We’re continuing to suffer from 8 years of a fool who popularly claimed to govern “from the heart rather than the mind”. I think that’s basically what the Tea Party is saying — that their conservative instincts focused into populist rhetoric (and spiked with religion) are a better path for solving our problems than logical, informed thought and unconstrained debate. If things continue and Social Security and Medicare go down the drain while wealth continues to be concentrated in fewer, more powerful hands as the middle class continues to contract — some in the current Tea Party may actually have achieved their ideological goal. But by then the new Tea Party style reactionary group may more closely resemble the Bolsheviks. And that would certainly not be productive either . . . .

      5. Wolf Mod

        “Now I admit that “we” were hoodwinked by the Bush Administration, but at least he did what he said…or at least tried.”

        Hoodwink: 1. Blindfold. 2. Hide 3. To deceive by false appearance, dupe.

        So he blindfolded the country, and hid the truth, then deceived us. Some of of us, but not all of us.

  11. We are in a fight over the role of government. The GM bailout was a huge success. Republicans were for the TARP program and against the GM bailout. Even you have to admit that the GM bailout was a success. There are certain areas where private industry is more effective than government. Health Care should be administered by government because a private for profit model is inappropriate for insuring people as they get older and sicker. Borderline socialist- is that like borderline nutjob?
    I think you are generalizing a little too much, as much as I dislike Obama’s Environmental policies he still is the most capable grownup to run the country in 2012.

    1. I’m going have to agree and I don’t hide how I feel about Obama, but I think he has a good shot at winning the presidency again. A few months ago, I would have said no, but after Bin Laden being killed, I think the american people like Obama more than before. Bin Laden being killed on his watch certainly made his approval ratings go up. I also saw that Palin was crediting George W. Bush for Bin lade being killed. She didn’t announce if she would run, but I would say Palin has no chance of winning. The polls taken recently show that many americans feel that she is not qualified to be president. Remember, Palin thinks that dinosaurs and humans walked the earth at the same time.

      1. Allen West and Michelle Bachman will run and win. Now I’m not sure which will be President vs VP, but mark my words this will be who wins. Laugh now my liberal little friend, but “we” need an african american and a female to beat Obama. Watch and learn my friend!

      2. That’s a good one Wolf Moderate. I don’t know who is more of an idiot- West or Bachmann, but they are both close to certifiable

      3. Remember Jon- The Republicans are the party of national security and fiscal responsibility. Laugh here

      4. “He who laughs last, laughs loudest”. Unfortunately you Willam (I doubt Jon) have been indoctrinated by college and can not see the true way of the world. Oh well, I have my compound and you don’t 🙂 Have fun in chicago or Portland or whenver when the unemployment, welfare, and food stamps are cut off! Oh boy, will it be a sight to see!

      5. Wolf Moderate-
        Why don’t you put your money where your mouth is. I’ll bet you 100.00 bucks that the Democrats take back the House, keep the Senate, and retain the Presidency. The great Republican overreach of 2011 will be over soon. Are you game? Bounty Boy?

      6. 1) Yes I’m game. The Republicans will take the Senate AND the White House. Who will hold the funds? I can’t trust a liberal 🙂 So pretty much everyone on this site is out of the question lol.

        2) I can’t wait until bounties are instituted. Why the Fck not? There is a certain quota that the F&G will take every year, why pay federal workers, when we can just pay a small bounty to ME? HeHe. Unfortunately I don’t have the time, but thanks for trying bud.

      7. Wolf Moderate-
        Our word should be good enough, at least it used to be good enough. Without getting into a long discussion about bounties, the short answer is that it isn’t circa 1929 Montana anymore. There are some hunters and trappers, not all, that have questionable ethics. Giving these people a financial incentive to go after wolves would not be a good thing for a number of reasons

      8. Ok William I will take your word. So, the bet is that Republicans win the House, Senate, AND White House, or that the Democrats win the House, Senate AND White House. Send me an email so I can talk crap from time to time and ensure that we are still on lol. munromatt724@gmail.com

        YOU HAVE ZERO CHANCE OF WINNING, I HAVE ABOUT 75% CHANCE SUCKA 🙂

        See YOU in 2012 😉

      9. William, Tom is from my state. He wants to bring back snaring for coyotes. Snares are a form of torture. I look forward to the day when they ban snaring all over the usa.

      10. Jon- What do you expect from sadists. They enjoy it. Like I said before, Remington and your shitbagger Governor Lapage deserve each other

  12. “Why don’t you guys join the Tea Party? They are awesome.”
    Because they are not “awesome”. They have even less interest in the health of the environment than either main stream Republicans or Democrats. They care only about the rich getting richer at the expense of the middle class and poor. They would happily trash social security and medicare and return many of America’s seniors to the “good old days” of standing in line at the soup kitchen.
    I’m certain that you have already sent a letter to Uncle Sam declining S.S. and medicare as well as any subsidies, refunds etc. that you may be entitled (such a horrible word!!) to; but frankly, medicare is starting to look better and better to me as I get older and older and have more and more health issues after 50 years of working my *** off, and private insurance is getting more and more expensive, and deductables are getting bigger and bigger. But, hey! No need for GE or Exxon Mobile to pay income tax, Grandma can tighten her belt a little more. Maybe she can go moose hunting!

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