This article from Wes Siler says the amendment to sell off public lands was co-written by Steve Daines. Is that right? Doesn’t seem like it would be.
"An amendment to the budget reconciliation package written by Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Steve Daines (R-Montana) authorizes the sale of 258 million acres of BLM and National Forest land across 10 western states and Alaska. The move comes after a provision exempting land used for grazing from the sale was removed."
The Senate's budget reconciliation package includes provision to sell off 40 percent of all public land
wessiler.substack.com
I like Wes, but he’s completely wrong on this one. I’ve met with Ds and Rs this week. Here’s what I’ve heard from both sides.
Daines tried to work with Lee on something more sane, similar to what the Southen Nevada Land Management Act provides for the Vegas area. Daines wanted something concise that addressed the problems claimed by UT and NV delegations. They couldn’t come to an agreement.
Lee, being the difficult guy he is, came up with this proposal all on his own. He put the Montana exemption in there to try box in Daines and Sheehy. Lee’s strategy being that if Daines tried to lobby other Senators to kill the provision he would have a hard time swaying other Senators, given his state, Montana, was exempted.
Daines did not ask for that MT exemption. He’s trying to get it dropped or reeled in. As he told me yesterday, “These lands belong to all Americans, not just Montanans or Utah folks.”
When Ds tell me that Mike Lee is trying to make Daines’ life difficult, I have no reason to doubt it. The Senate is the chamber of decorum and respectful communication, so Daines is not going to call out Lee publicly. I will.
Ask any lobbyist here, from either side of the aisle, ask any Committee staffer in private, and the answer will be the same - Mike Lee doesn’t give two shits about anyone else and he views this as his one time where the planets have aligned.
Lee is known as a very smart guy. A cunning guy who keeps a “shit list” of people who have pissed him off. He doesn’t care if you're in his party of not, he’s accustomed to getting his way. If he views you as obstructing that path, your name goes on his shit list.
You’ll never hear that come from a Senator or a staffer, as decorum is highly appreciated in the Senate. Lee knows that and isn’t above taking advantage of that. If all 100 Senators were on a sinking ship, I doubt any of them, on either side, would offer Mike Lee a seat in their lifeboat.
Wes is wrong, as are most the Dem-centric critics back in Montana. Ask anyone who works these issues on the Hill where our best opportunity exists and who our best allies are in the Republican Party, as it relates to stopping Lee’s efforts. Two names come up without any hesitation; Daines in the Senate and Zinke in the House.
That might not be what some want to hear. But, right now, hacking on Daines and Zinke is not helpful to the cause of getting this shit killed or amended down to something far smaller and specific to Utah and Nevada.
I’ve been getting flooded with texts while back here. I wish those folks would actually come back here and build relationships on both sides. The world of public land advocacy would be far better off if people dealt in facts they learned while being here, rather than biased “news” reports from outlets that need to sell ads based on clicks/likes/shares.
I’m going to do a video about this when I get home tomorrow. I know it won’t be popular, but I’m here to win this issue, not support/blast one party or another. I used these platforms to defend Tester when false/stupid shit was stated about him, and I will defend Daines and Zinke when the same is happening to them.
