Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

EDITORIAL:

GOP smears of Interior nominee are of no service to American people

Peacefully demonstrating to protect the rights and well-being of vulnerable Americans is not radical or extremist. Nor is believing in climate science and environmentalism, or backing legislation promoting renewable energy.

We offer these simple truths in response to the Republican Party’s criticism of Deb Haaland, President Joe Biden’s nominee for secretary of the interior.

The GOP’s attack on Haaland, which heated up Tuesday in the first round of her confirmation hearings, is sickening on a lot of levels. It’s clearly a hit job by the fossil fuel industry, which is using the likes of Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso and Montana Sen. Steve Daines as its muscle in an attempt to maintain its ability to obtain cheap oil and gas leases on public lands.

The opposition to Haaland’s nomination stinks of racism and sexism. Haaland, one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress, is extremely well-qualified for the position. If lawmakers were looking not at her gender or ethnicity but solely at her résumé, which includes experience as vice chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources and chair of the subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, there would be no reason not to support her. Nor does she have any conflicts of interest — a stark contrast to many of the previous administration’s Interior picks, whom Barrasso and Daines fell all over themselves to support.

Third, the GOP’s portrayal of her as a radical is a smear of outlandish proportions. Yes, Haaland participated in the Black Rock protests over the Keystone XL pipeline. And? She hurt no one, damaged no property and incited no one to violence. Rather, she turned out in peaceful support of a badly oppressed and systematically disadvantaged people whose health and culture were being jeopardized by the pipeline. There’s nothing wrong with Haaland being part of the protests.

The senators now wringing their hands over a peaceful protest just weeks ago shrugged off a deadly attack on the Capitol incited by then-President Donald Trump.

Similarly, there’s nothing extremist in Haaland’s support of climate science and the Green New Deal. Contrary to the teeth-gnashing by the GOP, Haaland acknowledges an ongoing need for oil and gas to serve Americans’ energy needs. In her opening statement Tuesday, she said: “As I’ve learned in this role, there’s no question that fossil energy does and will continue to play a major role in America for years to come. I know how important oil and gas revenues are to critical services.”

That’s radical? Not in the least. The same applies to the GOP’s harrumphing over Haaland’s 2020 tweet saying Republicans “don’t believe in science,” which Barrasso described Tuesday as “disturbing.” Here’s a news flash, Senator: A lot of Republicans certainly don’t believe in science. Climate change deniers, anti-maskers and the like tend to be overwhelmingly right-leaning. And as far as Haaland’s companion tweet about the GOP removing the word science from its website, just consider that the previous presidential administration removed or scrubbed thousands of web pages regarding climate change as part of a broader war on science. If Barrasso wants to tackle disturbing tweets, we’ve got about 20,000 from a disgraced former president he can work through before he turns to Haaland.

The bottom line is there are no red flags when it comes to Haaland’s nomination.

In fact, it’s way past time for a Native American to lead the Interior, whose departments include the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Indian Education. The department also manages about 55 million acres of land held in trust by the United States government for various Native American tribes and individuals.

For a country whose mistreatment of Native American tribes by the federal government has been a stain throughout our nation’s history, having Haaland in charge of Interior would be an inspirational step in the right direction. It’s perfectly appropriate for Interior to weigh cultural and spiritual considerations when determining land usage issues.

Haaland also hails from the West, nearly a prerequisite for understanding the issues that face Interior, which are predominantly matters of vital concern in the Western states.

For Nevadans, Haaland’s nomination should be embraced. We need leaders in Washington, D.C., who understand, right down to their bones, issues of Western land and water. Haaland is that person and will speak our language on these issues.

In undercutting Haaland’s nomination, the Republican senators — and perhaps even Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who has not said whether he’d support Haaland — are placing the interests of corporate greed above the interests of stakeholding citizens of the U.S. We need a steward of the land and its resources in this position, not an exploiter.

If Barrasso, Daines, et al, are truly concerned about extremism, they should concentrate on what’s going on in their own backyard — their party’s increasing embrace of the likes of militias and violent groups like the Proud Boys.

Those are radicals. Haaland is as American as you can get.