by DEVIN NUNES
Two of President Obama’s advisors testified before the House Ways and Means Committee this week to discuss U.S. energy policy (view my questions here). They focused on “green energy” yet were forced to admit that windmills and solar panels will be inadequate to satisfy our nation’s growing needs (see details from my 2008 report here).
Our nation’s current energy supply is inadequate and we are dangerously close to capacity in many regions – relying on outdated transmission and generation systems. Consumers are paying the price with high rates, not only in California but in many other states.
Furthermore, more than half of our energy comes from imports. This makes the United States highly vulnerable to external pressures and economically damaging price shocks – more so than at any time in our history.
What is the Obama solution to this problem?
Energy “productivity” and government control are the linchpins of his plan. In this instance, “productivity” is radical environmentalist code for high energy prices and forced rationing. (You can see President Obama admitting high prices will be part of his plan by clicking here.)
If President Obama and his Democrat supermajorities in Congress have their way, new government edicts and bureaucrats will dictate how you use energy and under what circumstances energy consuming products can be sold to Americans.
The Energy Star system, developed to inform consumers and encourage conservation, will become an Energy Czar system with national laws that mirror California’s outrageous policy banning big screen televisions. Economic prosperity and affordable energy are directly linked. Without abundant and affordable energy supplies to grow our economy, more jobs will be sent to China and other nations that make actual energy production a priority.
We can’t let President Obama put a dimmer switch in the Oval Office – where our consumption of energy will be subject to the whims of Soviet-style resource allocators.
There is a better way.
I will soon be introducing a bill I am co-sponsoring with Rep. Paul Ryan called The Roadmap for America’s Energy Future, which is part of our larger Roadmap reform initiative. The bill takes advantage of our nation’s abundant fossil fuel resources, along with extensive nuclear power development, to power America until advanced alternatives are able to replace them. Keep an eye on my blog and website for details in the coming weeks.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Soviet Socialism, American Leftists, and European PIGS
by DEVIN NUNES
(On April 1, 2010, The Flash Report publish my article on "Soviet Socialism, American Leftists, European PIGS.")
Click here for the link to my article.
(On April 1, 2010, The Flash Report publish my article on "Soviet Socialism, American Leftists, European PIGS.")
We have heard a lot lately about my comments relating Obamacare to the failed socialist policies of the Soviet Union. Liberals and a host of radical leftists have mocked my observation in their blogs and some mainstream news outlets have even poked fun at me. However, the transformation of America is no laughing matter.
The parallels between leftist policies today and those of failed socialist states are undeniable; so much so that even a Russian state-owned news commentator was forced to concede my point:
“Republican Devin Nunes accused the bill of continuing the failed Soviet experiment. He was overly emotional but there is a grain of truth in what he said... Apparently, the socialist experience has proved too tempting to be resisted.” (RIANOVOSTI News, March 22, 2010)
Thanks to increasing regulation, rising taxes and greater centralization of power in Washington America is slowly leaving behind the foundation of its economic strength; namely the entrepreneurial energy that comes from freedom. And while a full-fledged Marxist revolution may not be on the horizon, the transformation of America in the image of European socialism is real and it should be of great concern to us all.
The most obvious example of failed central planning remains the Soviet Union. However, failed socialist policies are not limited to the history books. Consider the economic decline and social unrest in Europe.
As a result of government dominance throughout the European economy, member states are facing the current global economic crisis with limited options. The direct pain confronting Europeans is therefore magnified, just as the prospects for economic recovery are limited. These limitations are practical, resulting from the patchwork of laws and regulations imposed on their economies, as well as political, the result of mass dependence on government programs—a dependence shared by all but a handful of wealthy elites.
Evidence of this fact is widely available today. For example, French leaders recently cut federal spending in an attempt to address their national debt crisis. The cuts, however, resulted in massive general strikes, as well as social unrest—riots, looting and mass demonstrations.
Throughout Europe political leaders have been burned in effigy by protestors. They are being forced to choose between social order and financial order. Pay cuts for government employees, for example, result in general strikes. More radical reforms, including those needed for long-term economic health, can’t even be discussed openly.
In the final analysis, without the support of the masses, EU governments are left without the ability to change course and are forced to preside over national decline. I refer to this condition as an economic death spiral.
EU democracies face this threat because deficit spending cannot sustain an economy long-term. At some point, foreign lenders will resist additional financing—a problem already faced by a group of European countries known as the PIGS. The PIGS are Portugal, Ireland, Greece, and Spain. Together they have a combined debt of approximately $198 billion. Spain’s debt is highest, at $116 billion, followed by Greece at $37 billion, Ireland at $30 billion and Portugal at $15 billion.
Some have suggested these nations could be the first in the developed world to default on their credit obligations but the more likely scenario is that they will face long-term economic stagnation. This means high unemployment, high interest rates and little prospect for improvement.
Interestingly, you don’t have to look as far as Europe to find such as doomsday scenario. Leftists in California have driven the state to the brink of bankruptcy with a deficit of $20 billion. If major reforms are not enacted, California will join the PIGS of Europe as another failed social democracy. Perhaps worse, if Obamacare and other Democratic policies are allowed to continue unaltered, America itself will join in this fate.
Click here for the link to my article.
Friday, March 26, 2010
How to "Bee" a Victim
by DEVIN NUNES
The Fresno Bee seems to have joined forces with the Socialist Worker, an online propaganda tool of extreme leftists, in defense of the very people who are taking our jobs away. Together, they want you to believe that Democrats are the victims of partisanship, not the party responsible for it.
Now that the President’s big government health bill has become law, Democratic lawmakers are scrambling to divert the public’s attention away from themselves. Democrats don’t want to discuss what they did to the American healthcare system or how much it will really cost our country. Instead, they hope to transform themselves into victims with a well coordinated smear campaign against Tea Party protestors, myself and others.
With the help of newspapers like the Fresno Bee valley Democrats are trying to hide from their record. They are relying on textbook leftist maneuvers; demagogue the issue, smear opponents and cry victim. One of our region’s lawmakers went so far as to label protestors “terrorists in training.”
This arrogance has caused an outpouring of anger—an anger shared by the vast majority of San Joaquin Valley residents. These are the real victims; the farmers, farm workers, business owners and residents of the San Joaquin. They have had their livelihood stolen from them by irresponsible government policies and are receiving no help from this Congress. My own efforts, which have included specific legislative proposals and amendments to legislation, have all been blocked without debate.
Since 2006, the Speaker and her allies have gutted the Peoples’ House of many of the most important principles associated with our Democratic Republic. For the first time in history, and with the Rules Committee leading the charge, the House of Representatives is being operated under Martial Law on a continual basis—limited debate and no amendments under an open rule.
The Fresno Bee has ignored these facts despite having a reporter based in Washington and a valley lawmaker serving on the Rules Committee. Instead, I have been criticized for my strong language during debate. While it is true that I could use less strong rhetoric to impress the editors of left leaning newspapers, doing so would fail to convey the significance of what the Democrats have done and are doing to our great nation.
You can view recent statements on my blog (click here). I have also posted new videos on YouTube (click here).
The Fresno Bee seems to have joined forces with the Socialist Worker, an online propaganda tool of extreme leftists, in defense of the very people who are taking our jobs away. Together, they want you to believe that Democrats are the victims of partisanship, not the party responsible for it.
Now that the President’s big government health bill has become law, Democratic lawmakers are scrambling to divert the public’s attention away from themselves. Democrats don’t want to discuss what they did to the American healthcare system or how much it will really cost our country. Instead, they hope to transform themselves into victims with a well coordinated smear campaign against Tea Party protestors, myself and others.
With the help of newspapers like the Fresno Bee valley Democrats are trying to hide from their record. They are relying on textbook leftist maneuvers; demagogue the issue, smear opponents and cry victim. One of our region’s lawmakers went so far as to label protestors “terrorists in training.”
This arrogance has caused an outpouring of anger—an anger shared by the vast majority of San Joaquin Valley residents. These are the real victims; the farmers, farm workers, business owners and residents of the San Joaquin. They have had their livelihood stolen from them by irresponsible government policies and are receiving no help from this Congress. My own efforts, which have included specific legislative proposals and amendments to legislation, have all been blocked without debate.
Since 2006, the Speaker and her allies have gutted the Peoples’ House of many of the most important principles associated with our Democratic Republic. For the first time in history, and with the Rules Committee leading the charge, the House of Representatives is being operated under Martial Law on a continual basis—limited debate and no amendments under an open rule.
The Fresno Bee has ignored these facts despite having a reporter based in Washington and a valley lawmaker serving on the Rules Committee. Instead, I have been criticized for my strong language during debate. While it is true that I could use less strong rhetoric to impress the editors of left leaning newspapers, doing so would fail to convey the significance of what the Democrats have done and are doing to our great nation.
You can view recent statements on my blog (click here). I have also posted new videos on YouTube (click here).
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Washington has changed, not me
by DEVIN NUNES
From the March 24 Edition of The Fresno Bee:
Since the Democrats gained their majorities in Congress in November 2006, the atmosphere in Washington has changed; not me. This change was not just in leadership but in tactics.
Fresno Bee columnist Bill McEwen wrote Tuesday that I have become cartoon-like in my rhetoric; a caricature of my real self. However, to reach this conclusion one must first ignore the record of the Democratic-controlled House under Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Consider, for example, the widely reported comments of Rep. Alcee Hastings, Speaker Pelosi's Rules Committee point man for "legislative process."
During a March 21 hearing, Congressman Hastings said, "There ain't no rules around here, we're trying to accomplish something. And therefore, when the deal goes down, all of this talk about rules -- we make them up as we go along."
You might be surprised to learn that Rep. Hastings is a former federal judge. Former -- not retired -- because he was impeached by a Democratic-controlled Congress in 1989 for bribery and perjury. It is oddly appropriate that he would serve on the Rules Committee. Even worse, these remarks occurred during the historic health-care debate, and preceded passage of a law that enabled the government to take control of one-sixth of our economy.
In my experience, there are few words that describe Speaker Pelosi's tactics better than "totalitarian." Indeed, the word conveys both the personal nature of her leadership, as well as the greater implications of a political philosophy operating on the basis of "the ends justify the means."
I use "totalitarian" because it describes what is happening in the Peoples' House. The word means: "Of or pertaining to a centralized government that does not tolerate parties of differing opinion."
To be sure, the tone of public debate has grown increasingly shrill. However, to simply characterize my rhetoric as "cartoon-like" misses the very real horror inflicted on the American people by one-party rule under the Democrats. That horror has manifested itself in the transformation of the Peoples' House into an institution used solely for the benefit of the political left.
For the first time in the history of our republic, the House has not permitted debate under an "open rule" on any legislation. Closed rules have permitted Democratic leaders to hide their agenda from the American people. It has also made the resolution of serious challenges confronting the American people, such as the California water crisis, virtually impossible. For example, I have repeatedly been blocked from offering legislation or amendments that would resolve the water crisis facing the San Joaquin Valley.
At the same time, these oppressive rules have been used to pass highly controversial and far-reaching public laws that would have otherwise not passed -- or at least, not in the form in which they were enacted. The only bipartisan vote that occurred was in opposition to the health-care bill. This clearly demonstrates that the legislation would have looked different if the House were permitted to reflect the will of the people.
It is a travesty that the House -- a body our Founders' intended to be responsive to the will of the people -- is no longer an institution of debate. It is not a place for the free-flowing exchange of ideas.
I have witnessed the worst character of government and have fought to implement reforms in the face of opposition from both Republican and Democratic leaders. I have authored earmark reform legislation, sought the establishment of a fair redistricting process to end the practice of politicians picking their voters, and have exposed both Republican and Democratic leaders who have violated the public faith.
Thousands of people in the Valley have lost their jobs because of the misguided and dangerous views of leftists. With regional unemployment near 20%, Fresno Bee columnists and editorial writers should begin listening to the victims of oppressive government policies because no amount of federal spending will create jobs taken from our region by the government.
From the March 24 Edition of The Fresno Bee:
Since the Democrats gained their majorities in Congress in November 2006, the atmosphere in Washington has changed; not me. This change was not just in leadership but in tactics.
Fresno Bee columnist Bill McEwen wrote Tuesday that I have become cartoon-like in my rhetoric; a caricature of my real self. However, to reach this conclusion one must first ignore the record of the Democratic-controlled House under Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Consider, for example, the widely reported comments of Rep. Alcee Hastings, Speaker Pelosi's Rules Committee point man for "legislative process."
During a March 21 hearing, Congressman Hastings said, "There ain't no rules around here, we're trying to accomplish something. And therefore, when the deal goes down, all of this talk about rules -- we make them up as we go along."
You might be surprised to learn that Rep. Hastings is a former federal judge. Former -- not retired -- because he was impeached by a Democratic-controlled Congress in 1989 for bribery and perjury. It is oddly appropriate that he would serve on the Rules Committee. Even worse, these remarks occurred during the historic health-care debate, and preceded passage of a law that enabled the government to take control of one-sixth of our economy.
In my experience, there are few words that describe Speaker Pelosi's tactics better than "totalitarian." Indeed, the word conveys both the personal nature of her leadership, as well as the greater implications of a political philosophy operating on the basis of "the ends justify the means."
I use "totalitarian" because it describes what is happening in the Peoples' House. The word means: "Of or pertaining to a centralized government that does not tolerate parties of differing opinion."
To be sure, the tone of public debate has grown increasingly shrill. However, to simply characterize my rhetoric as "cartoon-like" misses the very real horror inflicted on the American people by one-party rule under the Democrats. That horror has manifested itself in the transformation of the Peoples' House into an institution used solely for the benefit of the political left.
For the first time in the history of our republic, the House has not permitted debate under an "open rule" on any legislation. Closed rules have permitted Democratic leaders to hide their agenda from the American people. It has also made the resolution of serious challenges confronting the American people, such as the California water crisis, virtually impossible. For example, I have repeatedly been blocked from offering legislation or amendments that would resolve the water crisis facing the San Joaquin Valley.
At the same time, these oppressive rules have been used to pass highly controversial and far-reaching public laws that would have otherwise not passed -- or at least, not in the form in which they were enacted. The only bipartisan vote that occurred was in opposition to the health-care bill. This clearly demonstrates that the legislation would have looked different if the House were permitted to reflect the will of the people.
It is a travesty that the House -- a body our Founders' intended to be responsive to the will of the people -- is no longer an institution of debate. It is not a place for the free-flowing exchange of ideas.
I have witnessed the worst character of government and have fought to implement reforms in the face of opposition from both Republican and Democratic leaders. I have authored earmark reform legislation, sought the establishment of a fair redistricting process to end the practice of politicians picking their voters, and have exposed both Republican and Democratic leaders who have violated the public faith.
Thousands of people in the Valley have lost their jobs because of the misguided and dangerous views of leftists. With regional unemployment near 20%, Fresno Bee columnists and editorial writers should begin listening to the victims of oppressive government policies because no amount of federal spending will create jobs taken from our region by the government.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Laying the Cornerstone of a Socialist Utopia
by DEVIN NUNES
Yesterday, the House passed Speaker Pelosi’s vision of healthcare in America. Here is why I voted “no” and why the American people should re-examine the Democratic leadership of our nation.
First, I do not accept the premise that it is necessary to upend the health coverage currently available to all Americans for the sake of covering those who are uninsured. Expanding access to insurance is far less complex and far less costly than Democrats would have you believe. It does not involve a government takeover of 1/6th of the American economy. It involves insurance market reform but it also and more significantly involves providing choice and competition. The bill I support, the Patients’ Choice Act, provides the framework for such an effort. However, my views were not considered nor were the views of other lawmakers who sought to improve the system we have today. That’s because Nancy Pelosi and her liberal associates intend to destroy private healthcare with the ultimate goal of a Washington centered government healthcare monopoly.
Even before this monopoly takes its final form, the Democratic bill will speed our nation into financial crisis. Simply put, we can’t afford a new government healthcare program—a fact acknowledged by the President and Congressional Democrats. This is why they claim their reforms cost nothing; that it will actually reduce the debt. In truth, the bill conservatively spends a trillion dollars and the final toll on our budget will be many times greater than the initial cost. In their urgency to enact their plan, Democratic leaders papered over the financial problems we face with new government agencies and creative accounting gimmicks. Ultimately, the mechanisms created by this new law will force federal bureaucrats to ration benefits to control spending—a practice that is already common in government programs such as Medicaid.
Unchecked federal spending and the new entitlement just created should concern every American. Our nation’s long-term financial outlook is worse than at any point in American history. Spending by the federal government outpaced revenues by $1.4 trillion last year and the red ink continues as far forward as we can see. In the real world, this financial condition would result in bankruptcy. Washington, however, can print money and borrow from foreign governments as long as those foreign powers are willing to keep us afloat. Any bets on when the Chinese will cut up the U.S.A. credit card?
The logic behind Speaker Pelosi’s health bill math defies common sense. Indeed, anyone claiming to make things cheaper by having the government provide it would do well to delegate financial decisions to someone else. A quick glance at the Treasury Secretary’s annual financial statement is all the proof we need. The United States is in a financial freefall and a new government healthcare entitlement will only make things worse. Existing entitlement programs like Medicare have unfunded liabilities amounting to $43 trillion—a figure that grows by nearly $2 trillion per year.
If all of these facts were not enough, the Democrats enacted their new law as a result of bribery. The American people have heard about many of the deals made prior to the vote. The Cornhusker Kickback, Florida Gatorade, and Louisiana Purchase are but a few examples. It is a national disgrace that our Congress has become an institution dependent on extortion to enact major legislation. And while the process is not easily discussed or understood, we cannot ignore the historic level of oppression implemented by Speaker Pelosi’s Rules Committee in her effort to gain passage of the bill. As much as the content of the bill itself, the manner in which it passed Congress provides clear evidence that the bill was about government power not the health of America.
Yesterday, the House passed Speaker Pelosi’s vision of healthcare in America. Here is why I voted “no” and why the American people should re-examine the Democratic leadership of our nation.
First, I do not accept the premise that it is necessary to upend the health coverage currently available to all Americans for the sake of covering those who are uninsured. Expanding access to insurance is far less complex and far less costly than Democrats would have you believe. It does not involve a government takeover of 1/6th of the American economy. It involves insurance market reform but it also and more significantly involves providing choice and competition. The bill I support, the Patients’ Choice Act, provides the framework for such an effort. However, my views were not considered nor were the views of other lawmakers who sought to improve the system we have today. That’s because Nancy Pelosi and her liberal associates intend to destroy private healthcare with the ultimate goal of a Washington centered government healthcare monopoly.
Even before this monopoly takes its final form, the Democratic bill will speed our nation into financial crisis. Simply put, we can’t afford a new government healthcare program—a fact acknowledged by the President and Congressional Democrats. This is why they claim their reforms cost nothing; that it will actually reduce the debt. In truth, the bill conservatively spends a trillion dollars and the final toll on our budget will be many times greater than the initial cost. In their urgency to enact their plan, Democratic leaders papered over the financial problems we face with new government agencies and creative accounting gimmicks. Ultimately, the mechanisms created by this new law will force federal bureaucrats to ration benefits to control spending—a practice that is already common in government programs such as Medicaid.
Unchecked federal spending and the new entitlement just created should concern every American. Our nation’s long-term financial outlook is worse than at any point in American history. Spending by the federal government outpaced revenues by $1.4 trillion last year and the red ink continues as far forward as we can see. In the real world, this financial condition would result in bankruptcy. Washington, however, can print money and borrow from foreign governments as long as those foreign powers are willing to keep us afloat. Any bets on when the Chinese will cut up the U.S.A. credit card?
The logic behind Speaker Pelosi’s health bill math defies common sense. Indeed, anyone claiming to make things cheaper by having the government provide it would do well to delegate financial decisions to someone else. A quick glance at the Treasury Secretary’s annual financial statement is all the proof we need. The United States is in a financial freefall and a new government healthcare entitlement will only make things worse. Existing entitlement programs like Medicare have unfunded liabilities amounting to $43 trillion—a figure that grows by nearly $2 trillion per year.
If all of these facts were not enough, the Democrats enacted their new law as a result of bribery. The American people have heard about many of the deals made prior to the vote. The Cornhusker Kickback, Florida Gatorade, and Louisiana Purchase are but a few examples. It is a national disgrace that our Congress has become an institution dependent on extortion to enact major legislation. And while the process is not easily discussed or understood, we cannot ignore the historic level of oppression implemented by Speaker Pelosi’s Rules Committee in her effort to gain passage of the bill. As much as the content of the bill itself, the manner in which it passed Congress provides clear evidence that the bill was about government power not the health of America.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Stockholm Syndrome in the San Joaquin Valley?
by DEVIN NUNES
Yesterday, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) released its preliminary report evaluating the science used to justify pumping restrictions on the Delta.
The study, originally requested by Senator Dianne Feinstein and valley Democrats, was sold as proof that Congress cares about San Joaquin Valley communities. At the time it was originally announced, agriculture lobbyists and water managers hailed the study as progress. So too did radicals in the environmental movement.
Indeed, a release dated October 16, 2009 by the Environmental Defense Fund stated, “We applaud the Obama Administration for its commitment to scientifically rigorous and balanced approach.” And why shouldn’t the environmentalists support such a study? As I will now explain, turning our fate over to science represents a dangerous concession.
Farmers and water users should never have accepted the NAS study as evidence of help by Congress or the Administration. Simply put, it was not help. If anything, it was a delaying tactic that has resulted in more pain for our region, not less. Waiting on the NAS for Congress to act has meant another year and billions of gallons of lost water.
The danger associated with the NAS study is more than the delay in action it is used to justify. The very idea of conducting a study concedes that two inch smelt are rightfully preserved at the expense of San Joaquin Valley communities. I and others reject this premise and the backwards ideology that defends it.
The representatives of California’s agriculture and water interests who applauded the commissioning of an NAS study appear to be suffering from Stockholm syndrome. They don’t understand that they have made a concession that will ultimately lead to their own destruction.
I have come to think of these groups as hostages. Though well intended, they have lost perspective due to their captivity. They have even begun to see their jailors as advocates. The first major concession came in 1992 with the Miller-Bradley bill, which diverted a million acre feet of water away from San Joaquin Valley communities. At the time, residents were promised that this enormous water diversion would be the last and that future water deliveries would be secure.
Of course, history demonstrates otherwise. Lawsuits, legislation and regulation have continued to attack San Joaquin Valley water supplies. In 2009, Democrats enacted the San Joaquin River settlement. This bill passed with the support of most of the hostages, Friant water districts, based on the commitment of Democratic Congressional leaders that water used to restore the river would be recirculated. It didn’t take long to uncover the truth. Water will not be recirculated. In fact, as much as 250,000 acre feet of water will be lost on an annual basis. Worse, the legislation sets up farmers on the east side of the valley for lawsuits and future water losses.
Let me be clear. Those hailing the NAS study make a dangerous concession. Congress, not God, created the Endangered Species Act. Americans can never accept the premise that the government’s responsibility to wildlife supersedes its responsibility to the people. This bizarre view is what has helped to transform the Endangered Species Act from a law seeking to ensure the conservation and responsible management of our resources to one that commands the unnatural preservation of nature.
Recent history shows us that the radicals in the environmental movement are fighting a war of attrition. They have patiently fought to remake California in their own image—a green utopia where communal gardens feed villages, windmills power homes, and commutes take place on bike trails and sidewalks. At the core of this neo-Marxist ideology is anti-capitalism and a loathing of the individual freedoms that have made America great.
To achieve their warped view of a sustainable society, radical environmentalists have been attacking rural California for years. In the 1990’s, they devastated the state’s timber industry. A total of 84 wood products mills and factories were closed. The diversion of water from rural communities and farms, as previewed by the destruction of the Klamath Basin in 2001, represents the tipping point. Without water, the culture and communities we built in the San Joaquin Valley will wither and die.
If we are going to save the San Joaquin Valley from those who want to restore it to a natural state—one that is characterized by dry land and tumbleweeds—we will have to begin to force our representatives to fight. Not just our elected representatives in Congress, but the many advocates who claim to serve the interests of rural communities, farmers and water users in our region. Stockholm syndrome is real. And if we don’t wake up and begin to fight, we will lose more than our water.
Yesterday, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) released its preliminary report evaluating the science used to justify pumping restrictions on the Delta.
The study, originally requested by Senator Dianne Feinstein and valley Democrats, was sold as proof that Congress cares about San Joaquin Valley communities. At the time it was originally announced, agriculture lobbyists and water managers hailed the study as progress. So too did radicals in the environmental movement.
Indeed, a release dated October 16, 2009 by the Environmental Defense Fund stated, “We applaud the Obama Administration for its commitment to scientifically rigorous and balanced approach.” And why shouldn’t the environmentalists support such a study? As I will now explain, turning our fate over to science represents a dangerous concession.
Farmers and water users should never have accepted the NAS study as evidence of help by Congress or the Administration. Simply put, it was not help. If anything, it was a delaying tactic that has resulted in more pain for our region, not less. Waiting on the NAS for Congress to act has meant another year and billions of gallons of lost water.
The danger associated with the NAS study is more than the delay in action it is used to justify. The very idea of conducting a study concedes that two inch smelt are rightfully preserved at the expense of San Joaquin Valley communities. I and others reject this premise and the backwards ideology that defends it.
The representatives of California’s agriculture and water interests who applauded the commissioning of an NAS study appear to be suffering from Stockholm syndrome. They don’t understand that they have made a concession that will ultimately lead to their own destruction.
I have come to think of these groups as hostages. Though well intended, they have lost perspective due to their captivity. They have even begun to see their jailors as advocates. The first major concession came in 1992 with the Miller-Bradley bill, which diverted a million acre feet of water away from San Joaquin Valley communities. At the time, residents were promised that this enormous water diversion would be the last and that future water deliveries would be secure.
Of course, history demonstrates otherwise. Lawsuits, legislation and regulation have continued to attack San Joaquin Valley water supplies. In 2009, Democrats enacted the San Joaquin River settlement. This bill passed with the support of most of the hostages, Friant water districts, based on the commitment of Democratic Congressional leaders that water used to restore the river would be recirculated. It didn’t take long to uncover the truth. Water will not be recirculated. In fact, as much as 250,000 acre feet of water will be lost on an annual basis. Worse, the legislation sets up farmers on the east side of the valley for lawsuits and future water losses.
Let me be clear. Those hailing the NAS study make a dangerous concession. Congress, not God, created the Endangered Species Act. Americans can never accept the premise that the government’s responsibility to wildlife supersedes its responsibility to the people. This bizarre view is what has helped to transform the Endangered Species Act from a law seeking to ensure the conservation and responsible management of our resources to one that commands the unnatural preservation of nature.
Recent history shows us that the radicals in the environmental movement are fighting a war of attrition. They have patiently fought to remake California in their own image—a green utopia where communal gardens feed villages, windmills power homes, and commutes take place on bike trails and sidewalks. At the core of this neo-Marxist ideology is anti-capitalism and a loathing of the individual freedoms that have made America great.
To achieve their warped view of a sustainable society, radical environmentalists have been attacking rural California for years. In the 1990’s, they devastated the state’s timber industry. A total of 84 wood products mills and factories were closed. The diversion of water from rural communities and farms, as previewed by the destruction of the Klamath Basin in 2001, represents the tipping point. Without water, the culture and communities we built in the San Joaquin Valley will wither and die.
If we are going to save the San Joaquin Valley from those who want to restore it to a natural state—one that is characterized by dry land and tumbleweeds—we will have to begin to force our representatives to fight. Not just our elected representatives in Congress, but the many advocates who claim to serve the interests of rural communities, farmers and water users in our region. Stockholm syndrome is real. And if we don’t wake up and begin to fight, we will lose more than our water.
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