In recent days, American political discourse has not been dominated by the Republican elephant, nor by the Democratic donkey, but instead by the humblest of barnyard livestock — the pig, as in “You can put lipstick on a pig. It’s still a pig.” Does anyone actually put lipstick on a pig? The swine I see […]
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Posted inGoat
Lipstick on a Cheney
One needn’t go far to find mention of how the gun-slingin’, moose-eatin’ vice presidential pick of John McCain is going to snowmobile to victory this November on the backs of rural Western voters. Because she’s from the West (Alaska via Idaho), and because she’s been mayor of a small town (a suburb, actually), and because […]
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The Palin Effect
A couple of weeks ago, New Mexico traded its “toss up” status in the presidential election for “leaning Democrat.” And as of yesterday, the Rasmussen prediction market showed a 58% chance of an Obama/Biden victory in the Land of Enchantment. After many near-too-close-to-call election years, political winds seemed to be blowing moderately leftish. Tom Udall […]
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MMS does Denver
In the hours since the Interior Department released its report on sex, drugs, and multi-million-dollar corruption in the Minerals Management Service, news of the scandal has gone viral in the blogosphere, which means that every possible joke about drilling here, drilling now, the lubrication of government, and/or bureaucrats getting probed has already been made, repeatedly. […]
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Mark Udall’s gonna steal your water!
Two weeks ago, in a move he very quickly came to regret, John McCain told a Colorado reporter that the Colorado River Compact, which governs the river’s allocation between the “upper basin” states of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico and the “lower basin” states of Arizona, Nevada, and California, “obviously needs to be renegotiated.” […]
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Colorado gas commission backpedals on drilling rule
Remember the HCN story about the hullabaloo over the the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission’s attempt to strengthen the environmental regulations governing oil and gas development? The Glenwood Springs Post-Independent reports that the commission is dropping one of the most controversial of the proposed rule changes — the one that would have allowed the […]
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Fending off the gold diggers
Today the Colorado Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on a case that could take away local government discretion on mining operations. The court must decide whether counties have the right to prohibit open-pit cyanide gold mining by adopting land-use regulations. (The Colorado Mining Association, an industry group, sued Summit County after it passed such […]
Posted inRnc 08
The delegates and the ghost of Teddy R.
My Greyhound bus recently crossed the Colorado state line, putting me squarely back in HCN’s coverage area. So perhaps it’s now time to ask: what did I learn about the West – and Western environmental politics – in my journey away from the region? The main thing I learned about Western Republicans is that they […]
Posted inRnc 08
To our friends at grist.org
Dear Gristies, You may have gotten the best clean-coal-related video snippet of the conventions. But did you get one of these awesome hats? Will trade for a beer, if by some chance you’re still in the Twin Cities. Rob
Posted inRnc 08
Getting enough outside time?
Sarah Palin loves the environment, at least according to the bio video they just played on the big screen here at the Xcel Center. But she doesn’t seem to be spending too much time outside in it, despite living amidst what’s arguably some of the most beautiful scenery in existence. The video features the requisite panoramas […]
Posted inRnc 08
Palin’s identity politics
Everyone expected Sarah Palin’s speech last night to be long on biography and short on concrete policy proposals. Focusing on herself and her story — with occasional jabs at Obama — was what she had to do to keep from being defined by that gosh-darn liberal commentariat, which doesn’t think she’s qualified to be VP. […]
Posted inGoat
Score one for whistleblowers
A federal whistleblower will finally get a settlement from the agency that fired him four years ago. Former BLM staffer Earle Dixon, who was in charge of cleanup at the abandoned Yerington copper mine in Nevada, says he was fired in October 2004 after one year of work for informing local residents and the media […]
Posted inRnc 08
Pickens pitches his plan
If you’ve watched TV recently, you’ve almost certainly heard from T. Boone Pickens. He’s the Republican oil billionaire who recently saw the light on the need for alternative energy and has sponsored a flood of windmill-porn TV ads to make sure the rest of America gets the message. Now he’s taking his pitch straight to […]
Posted inRnc 08
The future of the Idaho GOP?
I have seen the future of the Idaho Republican party. His name is Brett Peterson, he’s a 24-year-old student at BYU-Idaho, and he’s in favor of more domestic oil and gas drilling. So much in favor of it that he showed up at the Democratic convention with a group of college Republicans who proceeded to […]
Posted inRnc 08
Ron Paul rallies in the Twin Cities
The West has always had a libertarian streak, and the 2008 election year has proved no exception. Ron Paul, the Republican U.S. house member from Texas who was the favored presidential candidate of his party’s libertarian wing, did an amazing job fundraising in the West. (This may be a better indicator of support than the […]
Posted inGoat
Read our tweets
The High Country News team is jumping headlong into the Web 2.0 world. Our most recent social networking adventure is happening on Twitter — an online application that allows our reporters and editors to provide short, quick updates, via cell phone or computer, about our work as it unfolds. In addition to writing blog posts, […]
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New GOP tax policy?
Like most Americans, I can’t say I know much about the governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin. But I have read that during her relatively brief tenure, she’s been a reformer who fought to raise taxes on oil companies, and then used the money to distribute $1,200 checks to Alaska residents. This could be a winning […]
Posted inRnc 08
Lions and tigers and anarchists, oh my!
“Make sure you put these credentials in your pocket as soon as you step out of the convention center. The protesters are going through the streets looking for people who are here for the convention. Wearing your credentials around your neck will make you a target.” These were the stern words that the man handing […]
Posted inRnc 08
Environmental swing voters? Nah.
New Mexico is shaping up to be one of the most interesting battleground states in the West this year. The presidential polls are starting to look good for Obama, and Representative Tom Udall, a member of the West’s most famous environmentalist family, has a good chance of taking the Senate seat currently held by the legendarily […]