Editorial: House bully uses deplorable tactics

The Alaska Republican, chairman of the Committee on Resources, has sent letters to the U.S. Forest Service and Justice Department demanding a list of their employees who belong to environmental groups, such as the Wilderness Society and the Sierra Club, which have initiated lawsuits under the Endangered Species Act.

But Young has no business asking public employees which private groups they belong to. If a Democratic committee chairman asked federal employees if they belonged to the National Rifle Association or the Christian Coalition, conservatives correctly would decry such an invasion of privacy.

Environmentalists worried about Young's tactics will get no sympathy from him. "They are Communists," Young told the New York Times. Young recently had to apologize to Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., after referring to Hinchey's amendment to a bill -- that opposed a road across sensitive Alaska lands -- as "evil," "immoral" and "corrupt."

There's a lot of talk in Congress these days about censure. Maybe it's time Young received a rebuke from his colleagues for his indefensible behavior.

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