Fairy tales about the West are fueling public lands conflict
Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva
March 16, 2016
... Its easy to forget now, but when the Oregon standoff was at its peak, few Beltway Republicans offered a word of protest. All too often, we heard that a band of confused, gun-brandishing fanatics had legitimate grievances and good reason to invade a national wildlife refuge. One of my colleagues, Idaho Republican Rep. Raúl Labrador, a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, even suggested they were engaged in a peaceful act of civil disobedience.
On Jan. 6, to restore some balance to the conversation, I offered a resolution of disapproval, calling on the militia to leave the refuge peacefully and surrender to local officials. My colleagues across the aisle ignored it, and no one cosponsored it.
Instead, the Federal Land Action Group, a coalition headed by two House Republicans, is continuing to conduct roundtables calling for the same kinds of federal property giveaways the Bundy group described as its main goal. These efforts are not supported by the Constitution. Unfortunately, given the economic dislocation happening across the West, many Americans see federal land transfers as a chance to return to the good old days: free land, plentiful resources and a blank check to treat the Earth like a bottomless gold mine.
The people selling this fantasy know better, and they need to level with the people they represent before the Malheur standoff is repeated. That begins with telling the truth about the West. Because of episodes as diverse as the Louisiana Purchase and the federal governments shameful genocide against Native American tribes, Uncle Sam once owned most of our countrys property not because of any theft from state or local officials but because of the often messy ways in which we became a nation ...
http://www.hcn.org/articles/fairy-tales-about-the-west-are-fueling-public-lands-conflict