Ettu Tester?

Senator Jon Tester just rolled out the latest version a wilderness bill, the Forests Jobs and Recreation Act of 2009. It’s 83 pages long, 24 lines per page, and so will be easy reading. I will do so tomorrow morning, but I’m not too good at spotting devil-in-details stuff, and there’s a lot of room between the lines of triple-spaced writing.

So I’ll just toss in a note of cynicism at this point.

For years now our congressional delegation has been attempting to come up with a final solution for our final six million acres of roadless land. Ideally, they wanted the timber industry to have the timber, and environmentalists the rocks and ice. That was always Senator Max Baucus’s objective, and “Rocks and Ice” became his nickname. Later in the game came the off-road activists – the motorized vehicle crowd, and since they represent a moneyed constituency, they quickly grew in political strength.

Prior to reading this legislation and reactions to it by the usual suspects, I’m going to postulate that Tester’s bill will give a boatload of timber to the timber industry, open up wilderness to motorized users, and offer some rocks and ice to environmentalists.

I’ll be thrilled to be wrong.

American politics is a top-down system shrouded in the illusion of inclusiveness. Successful politicians walk among us commoners while fulfilling objectives handed down from on high. Republicans politicians are deceitful in that they knowingly work for the interests of the moneyed set while diddling their constituents with so-called “wedges” like abortion and gay marriage.

The job handed Democrats is a little more complicated – they have to appear to represent loyal opposition. They must foster the illusion of inclusiveness while at the same time achieving elite objectives. Democratic deceit is more sophisticated than that of Republicans. They often posture as weak and accommodating – they are nothing of the sort. They are strong, self-assured and resolute. They are simply posturing as weak to avoid having to fight hard for progressive and environmental goals. As enemies go, Democrats are far more dangerous than Republicans.

I add in haste before being reminded so that there are good Democrats, and if we were allowed three parties, those Democrats would constitute the third one. As it is, they are Democrats by necessity, and as such, have been gelded.

Ettu Tester? The old good-cop bad cop routine had Conrad Burns playing the heavy and Max Baucus the softy. Baucus was always the one who stopped wilderness legislation in its tracks, and yet many wilderness activists actually saw him as an ally. I tend to think of Baucus as clumsy and ham-handed, but he actually pulled that off, so kudos. Burns … merely postured. He had an easy job, and was well-suited for it.

Now that we have two Democrats in the senate, the roles are convoluted. Baucus, while still a looming presence, has seemingly exited, and Tester has apparently been given the job of carrying timber industry/motorized legislation. It’s going to require sophistication on his part, and malleability on the part of his followers. It has started already.

I offer up a prayer:

Please, dear God, give us the courage to fight for the things we believe in and to oppose those who oppose us, and the wisdom to know who is friend, who is enemy.

Jon Tester has a higher likability quotient than Max Baucus. He might pull this off. This is a dangerous time for Montana’s remaining roadless lands.

P.S. Excellent piece at Counterpunch (Why Does Jon Tester Want to Log Wild Montana?) (h/t ladybug) by Paul Richards, who, like myself (ta da-da-da!) is a recipient of Montana Wilderness Association Brass Lantern Award. The organization, before being coopted by Pew, had some balls.

Anyway, here’s what Candidate Jon Tester said on May 30, 2006 in the presence of his wife, son, and two other witnesses:

“If elected, Jon Tester will work to protect all of Montana’s remaining roadless areas.”

Turns out not to be true. Joke’s on us!