Senator Daines credibility crisis

shoots-straight · Mar 28, 2015

If you would like to tweet Steve Daines here's the place to do that.

https://twitter.com/SteveDaines/status/568147813839851520

Jon Boy · Mar 29, 2015

With all of this said, Daines voted directly against what the majority of Montanan's from every single political party wanted. So where do we go from here to keep fighting this? It doesn't matter what we say to our politicians it seems? How do we stop this?

jryoung · Mar 29, 2015

Jon Boy said:
With all of this said, Daines voted directly against what the majority of Montanan's from every single political party wanted. So where do we go from here to keep fighting this? It doesn't matter what we say to our politicians it seems? How do we stop this?

#keephammering

Southwind · Mar 29, 2015

Ben Lamb said:
Now, nobody would say we should cut spending on our troops, battle readiness or actual defense. However, maybe it's time to start looking at trillion dollar deals to advance new military equipment the military doesn't want, 7 figure bonuses to def. tech contractors, etc.

When we take an honest look at what the country spends and where we spend it, it's clear that we're looking at the middle of our nose when we believe that selling one of the biggest economic engines of the country makes fiscal sense.

Or deals like Solyndra or websites for OCare. There are wide spread examples of thievery from the people in every aspect of government spending.

I strongly disagree with the sale or transfer of our public lands but find very little reliable non partisan representation in our ruling class.

Wish I knew the answer.

Ben Lamb · Mar 29, 2015

Southwind said:
Or deals like Solyndra or websites for OCare. There are wide spread examples of thievery from the people in every aspect of government spending.

I strongly disagree with the sale or transfer of our public lands but find very little reliable non partisan representation in our ruling class.

Wish I knew the answer.

Absolutely their is bipartisan theft of our treasury and stupidity. When you look at the aggregate though, what we spend on defense is over 1/2 of our budget and folks on both sides fight for pork and bloated programs instead of decent pay for troops or hot meals. By in large, that budget item is the biggest piece of the puzzle.

As for what next, keep writing your congressman, join groups who fight this bad idea and let your voice be heard loudly and often. Two things influence politics, money and volume.

We have the volume. Be loud and speak out directly to those officials. Show up at town halls and demand answers.

Sytes · Mar 29, 2015

Worries me to see a state such as California w/ it's deep debt suddenly responsible for profit driven state land, former National forest...
Bye bye John Muir. Hello Turner / Malone / Emmerson / Kelley... The modern day California Land Grab.
Goodbye Public land, Hello Outfitter leased / trespass fee driven / high fenced outdoor activities. State tax supported / driven private land owners.

California fire along Oregon border. California's lack of funding for fire prevention and suppression turns to State vs State aggression as Oregon loses land, property, stock, wildlife and human life. Private land owners sue California for loss of land and life in Oregon. Swap any states for that matter.

Imagination is endless for the issues that would rise.

Biggest issue for me. There is no turning back this page. Once it happens, it is done. Land in private hands can not return to the public. The Dumbo or Jackass party has no capability to reverse.

ugh... /rant off.

Big Fin · Mar 29, 2015

Sytes said:
Worries me to see a state such as California w/ it's deep debt suddenly responsible for profit driven state land, former National forest...
Bye bye John Muir. Hello Turner / Malone / Emmerson / Kelley... The modern day California Land Grab.
Goodbye Public land, Hello Outfitter leased / trespass fee driven / high fenced outdoor activities. State tax supported / driven private land owners.

California fire along Oregon border. California's lack of funding for fire prevention and suppression turns to State vs State aggression as Oregon loses land, property, stock, wildlife and human life. Private land owners sue California for loss of land and life in Oregon. Swap any states for that matter.

Imagination is endless for the issues that would rise.

Biggest issue for me. There is no turning back this page. Once it happens, it is done. Land in private hands can not return to the public. The Dumbo or Jackass party has no capability to reverse.

ugh... /rant off.

^^^ That will happen, for sure.

I wonder how long California is going to allow hunting/shooting on Federal lands if they get control of the 45 million acres within their boundary. Given how things are changing along the entire I-5 corridor, it is probably not unreasonable to have the same worry in WA and OR a generation from now. Or for that matter, in NV, when you consider that Vegas, now more like East Los Angeles, controls most the votes in the state.

jryoung · Mar 29, 2015

Southwind said:
Or deals like Solyndra or websites for OCare. There are wide spread examples of thievery from the people in every aspect of government spending.

I strongly disagree with the sale or transfer of our public lands but find very little reliable non partisan representation in our ruling class.

Wish I knew the answer.

The loan gaurentee program is in the black after Solyndra's losses. Solar prices are continuing to decrease rapidly, reaching parity in many markets. There's $5b of new private investment through 2016, and the industry has put a hundreds of thousands of boots on rooftops.

Like any investment portfolio or venture funding there will be losses, but the fund as a whole should be considered. We wouldn't have venture capitalists if this strategy didn't work.

jryoung · Mar 29, 2015

As for California, you can't hunt state land unless it is owned by DFW, which is currently only 1% of Der habitat in the state. But we have a lot of folks that hate loggers, miners and oil so who knows what would happen.

Hatchie Dawg · Mar 29, 2015

Ben Lamb said:
Absolutely their is bipartisan theft of our treasury and stupidity. When you look at the aggregate though, what we spend on defense is over 1/2 of our budget

We don't spend half of the federal budget on defense spending. Entitlements take up well over half the budget and I expect you know that. Defense is a little over half of discretionary spending, a much smaller part of the pie to begin with after medicaid, Medicare, welfare etc etc etc

HD

James Riley · Mar 29, 2015

Subsidy for solar pales in comparison, by gargantuan orders of magnitude, to what got nearly all of the 1% off the ground in this country; we don't have to start with the checkerboard to railroads but we could. No need to get into petro-subsidy, timber, grazing, mining etc., each one of which, alone would dwarf solar. To act like solar is some communist experiment is laughable. And when you understanding compounding of interest and investment, both in terms of money and familial inheritance, well, never mind. I'm off topic.

James Riley · Mar 29, 2015

Facing Defense spending off against all entitlements is like facing household gasoline purchases off against all of the household budget. Better to parse each item out for comparison if we are searching for intellectual honesty. Besides, little of it is paid for by tax dollars anyway. We finance our debt off our petro-dollar monopoly. That could change if anyone switched to a petro-euro or barter; oh wait, that's what Saddam, Iran and Venezuela did.

Ben Long · Mar 29, 2015

Yeah, we can quibble about federal spending priorities, but to me the bottom line here is a politician who promised to represent sportsmen, "stand firm" against "any" scheme to transfer public land, then handed the enemies of public land a big, fat prize as quickly as he could vote. If he gamed sportsmen like that over the 2nd Amendment, he would be tarred and feathered. We should defend our lands and access with equal vigor.

roadhunter · Mar 30, 2015

BuzzH said:
The agencies are underfunded...no question, no debate.

Been involved with one for almost 30 years and the only thing that's changed is a higher work load, less staff, and more demands.

I've heard we need to more with less for the last 20 years...almost a running joke anymore.

There's a reason why correction workers are more happy at work than employees that work for the various land management agencies.

Wow. I feel so sorry for all the poor USFS employees. LOL.

Get real Buzz. I have worked around plenty of USFS employees and never once was I impressed with their work ethic. Show up late, leave early, do nothing while at work, take lots of vacation/sick time, get a nice paycheck and full benefits. Heck I've witnessed USFS employees spend most of a day surfing the internet and even sleeping on the job on several occasions. Most of those people would never make even close to what they make at the USFS as they would in the private sector.

Giving them more money is not the answer.

noharleyyet · Mar 30, 2015

tjones · Mar 30, 2015

noharleyyet said:

Surprised it took him this long to show up.

Ben Lamb · Mar 30, 2015

RobG · Mar 30, 2015

BuzzH said:
The agencies are underfunded...no question, no debate.

Been involved with one for almost 30 years and the only thing that's changed is a higher work load, less staff, and more demands.

I've heard we need to more with less for the last 20 years...almost a running joke anymore.

There's a reason why correction workers are more happy at work than employees that work for the various land management agencies.

Did you guys ever get off the continuing resolution?

Big Fin · Mar 30, 2015

Back on track guys.

This thread is about a Senator who promised one thing, time and time again, having seen his Senior Senator benefit from the hunter/angler vote in Montana. Then, when he gets elected, in part by those he made promises to with regard to public lands being a priority, he has made some early votes that are completely opposite to what was promised.

Part of the thread purpose is to point out to many, including the DC folks who lurk here, that people are watching. Hopefully, the Senator will make amends by working hard for public land priorities when they come up in the Senate.

Some of this reminds me of another Montana Senator, who when first elected, voted on some things early in his Senate career that if he had to do over again, I suspect he probably would. Yet, he has become a very effective advocate for public lands and hunters. And that same Senator has had his moments on this forum when he got taken to task for some issues related to land exchanges and water settlements that would negatively impact public lands.

This is not about burning Senator Daines at the stake. This is about making sure he understands that people are watching and paying attention to how he votes; to let him know that those who sent him to DC are holding him accountable. It is about trying to counter the pressure of Beltway insiders who are pressuring him to "toe the line." The Senator needs to know that he will have some explaining to do when he comes back home for visits.

If you want to start a thread on government budget priorities, do so in another thread. Keep this thread on track.

jryoung · Mar 30, 2015

Maybe he forgot what he said on the Twitter.

Senator Daines credibility crisis

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