"Re: Norton in Colorado - Which river was damaged? "
Message 15147135
The Death of a River Looms Over Choice for Interior Post
By TIMOTHY EGAN
From The New York Times
January 7, 2001
"But it is not Ms. Norton's conduct as the state's chief legal officer that is being debated in connection with the Summitville
mine. Rather, it is her philosophy. Ms. Norton, like Mr. Bush, has long advocated allowing the mining, timber and oil
industries more leeway to police themselves. Their argument is that if businesses are given incentives, like immunity from
fines and prosecution, for reporting and cleaning up their own pollution, most will do the right thing-A SO-CALLED SELF
AUDIT."
Message 15147122
For Norton, a Party Mission
By William Booth
Washington Post Staff Writer
From The Washington Post
Monday, January 8, 2001; Page A01
The following is an excerpt:
"To understand why environmentalists in Washington are so worried about President-elect Bush's choice of Norton for interior
secretary -- and why conservatives are applauding the nomination -- CREA is a good place to start.
The organization was conceived by Norton, then the outgoing Colorado attorney general. Its purpose: to confront an "overriding
problem," as its first mailings put it, that "over the last two decades, Democrats have created the impression that they are the
defenders of the environment while Republicans are environmental destroyers. Our bad guy image hampers the election of
Republican candidates and makes it difficult to promote common-sense policies."
Norton, through CREA, vowed to do something about that. The June gathering was part of her plan. The gathering included a
Who's Who of GOP powerhouses in Congress.
The guest of honor was Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (Miss.). The keynote address was delivered by House Speaker Newt
Gingrich (Ga.).
The sponsors for the gala that night included the National Coal Council, the Chemical Manufacturers Association, the
National Mining Association, the Chlorine Chemical Council and the political consulting firm of Karl Rove, one of Bush's
closest advisers.
To environmental advocacy groups in Washington, CREA represents everything they fear about Norton. Their concern is
that as the steward of America's public lands and the gamekeeper of the nation's wildlife, she is beholden to the extractive
industries and will open up large tracts of land to mining, oil and gas drilling, and timber harvesting; that she will side with
private property owners and businesses against the needs of endangered creatures.
Indeed, the head of a rival GOP group, Martha Marks -- founder and president of Republicans for Environmental Protection
-- accuses CREA of being nothing more than a front to gussy up the poor records of some Republican
officeholders.
"It's the classic green scam," Marks said, "green scam" meaning to slap the "green" label on someone or something that is
actually working against conservation and environmental protections." |
