Over at the Flathead Beacon, Kellyn Brown is not happy about the political process surrounding the North Fork Watershed Protection Act . . .
The real problem with the failure to pass the North Fork Watershed Protection Act is how it happened. Others can argue over the merits of the legislation, but let’s take a look at how the sausage was made. Or, in this case, not made.
Both Montana Sen. John Walsh and Rep. Steve Daines, who is challenging Walsh in the forthcoming U.S. Senate election, appeared eager to pass this bill and lay claim to protecting an area that conservation groups and energy companies alike agree should be off limits to new mineral development. To be clear, this is a rather noncontroversial bill. In a letter, ConocoPhillips’ vice president expressed support for the added protections.
Anymore, that matters very little, because Congress eagerly uses convoluted and preposterous rules in the name of politics. And this is just the latest perfect example of why many of us sit back dumbfounded by the ease at which this country’s governing bodies tie themselves into knots so they don’t have to do any real governing.