It’s been a day to make one’s head spin.

Let’s see: two senators; three members of the House; and half a dozen staffers, lobbyists and assorted power people.

Some observations.

Just as Fitzgerald famously said, “The very rich are different from you and I,” powerful people in Washington are different from powerful people elsewhere. For one thing, there are a very large number of them crammed into a very small area.

One hundred senators, 435 representatives and hundreds of cabinet secretaries, presidential advisers and chiefs of staff. Then you have lobbyists, ambassadors and a whole dazzling panoply of substantial power centers - museums, memorials, associations, performing arts centers … in sum, thousands of folks who can legitimately claim to be big shots, all jostling one another for space.

That’s why in the nation’s capital, now supposedly so devoted to the new sustainable/renewable economy, the vehicles of choice are giant black Chevy Suburbans or giant black Cadillac Escalades.

I’ve yet to see a Prius - but the streets are crowded with these sullen urban tanks. You’d think there was a convention of Mafia capos in town - but it’s just the ambassador from Argentina or the deputy assistant undersecretary of state for protocol.

And, alas, there’s not enough room on the streets for all these monsters to double-park, or park illegally, and demonstrate thereby the power of their occupants.

Conclusion: Imagine Colorado Springs with 2,000 Lionel Riveras, 2,000 Doug Bruces, 5,000 Douglas MacArthurs and 10,000 Spencer Penroses … that’s Washington!

Mark Udall appears to have found religion as regards Pinon Canon.

He told us that, although he had initially been unconvinced that the Army needed more “maneuver space,” he now realizes that modern warfare isn’t about roaring around in tanks, but about small units being able to command very large areas - so the Army needs larger areas to train in.

Makes sense, just as it made sense when the Army originally floated the idea of expansion, citing that very reason.

Continuing with Pinon, Rep. Mike Coffman, who, with our own Doug Lamborn, comprises our state’s Republican delegation, opined that the Army will come back with a new proposal for Pinon Canon “when things have cooled down.”

Coffman knows a little bit about the military, having served in both the Army and the Marine Corps. Wonder who he roots for during the Army-Navy game?

And speaking of Lamborn, he could not have been more obliging, more helpful or less pretentious. He answered questions for nearly an hour, introduced his colleagues in amiable terms and made himself available to the press (i.e., yours truly). His wife, Jeanie, was there as well, and was as gracious and good-tempered as her fortunate husband.

I had a question that, I thought, would stump even the most intrepid of public servants.

Why, I asked Lamborn, are there still six pay phone booths in the lobby of the Longworth Office Building, where our congressman has his office?

“Oh, I don’t think people actually use the phones,” he said. “They just go into the booths, close the door, and use their cell phones. It’s quiet and private.”

I checked - and he was right.

And then we heard Rep. Michele Bachmann, the Minnesota congresswoman who has become, according to your ideological preference, either your favorite lawmaker or the latest handmaiden of the forces of darkness.

I was waiting outside the door of the hearing room, chatting with Tim Leigh, when I saw her. She’s a slight, attractive and dark-haired woman, wearing little makeup, dressed simply in pants and a top (no power pants suit) who looked like … well, a completely regular person, someone you’d see at the mall or in line at Starbucks.

Leigh said, “I thought we’d see some celebrities, but I don’t see any.”

I pointed out Bachmann. “Tim, there’s one, and she’s from Minnesota.”

Tim thought I was joking, so he walked over and asked her whether she was, in fact, from Minnesota.

“You betcha!” she replied, in an exaggerated Minnesota accent, and they kidded around for a few minutes.

Then she spoke. Her speech was just fine. It was full of right-wing cliches and dire warnings about the future, but it wasn’t crazy, nasty, vicious or threatening.

Conclusion: We demonize folks we disagree with on the basis of a few video clips, some unguarded remarks and an out-of-context quotation or two.

Sorry, but I’m now a Michele Bachmann fan. I went to the House gift shop and tried to buy a Michele Bachmann T-shirt, but they didn’t have any.

Attention Nancy Pelosi: You’re missing a great revenue opportunity. Sell Bachmann T-shirts at $20 a pop and you could collect some serious dough … just ask the NFL.

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Posted by John Hazlehurst on September 30th, 2009 :: Filed under Uncategorized
Tags :: Chamber of Commerce, D.C., Hazlehurst

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If ever you wondered why Ken Salazar gave up the power and perks of the U.S. Senate to serve the Obama administration as secretary of the interior, I suggest that you wangle an opportunity to visit our distinguished native son in his Washington office.

Forget the extraordinary responsibilities of the position - the national parks, the public lands, the 67,000 employees, the 180,000 volunteers and the opportunities for real and lasting accomplishment that go with the job. Instead, let’s look at the office!

It’s easily one of the most beautiful spaces imaginable, including a broad balcony with panoramic views of the city and transcendent art on the walls.

There is, for example, a Thomas Moran painting from about 1880, titled “Green River Cliffs by Moonlight.” How good is it? As good or better than any Moran you’ll see at the Fine Arts Center, the Denver Art Museum or in any private collection.

And why is it in the secretary’s office?

Because a generous soul willed it to the Department of the Interior during 1938, probably thinking that it would brighten up somebody’s drab Washington office, and remind him/her about our greatest national treasure - the land itself.

I’d guess that none of the participants in the chamber’s “Washington Legislative Action Mission” have a painting so wonderful or an office so grand. To Salazar’s credit, he seems like the same guy who worked for Romer, served as Colorado’s attorney general and became a cautious, centrist senator.

Salazar spoke to us about the challenges facing the Interior. Many are in Colorado, including forest death from pine bark beetle infestation, diminishing flows on the river systems that give life to our state and region, and the multiple challenges of accommodating the needs of business, the military, the environment and the people who live and will live in Colorado.

Salazar introduced Tom Strickland, a former law partner who is now one of his senior aides. Strickland reminded us that Salazar was responsible for conceiving and creating the Great Outdoors Colorado initiative, which was passed by Colorado voters during 1992. That initiative established the state lottery and dedicated much of its proceeds to the preservation of open space and threatened landscapes throughout Colorado.

Now, Strickland said, Salazar hopes to create a national program modeled on GOCO, to be called “Great Outdoors America.” Strickland gave no further details, but it’s clear that Salazar would like to create a less political, less interruptible source of funding for the “crown jewels” of America - our national parks, monuments and public lands, stressed by overuse and threatened by climate change.

After his remarks, Bruce McCormick of Colorado Springs Utilities asked him to comment about the interlocking issues of Pueblo, Colorado Springs, the lower Arkansas Valley and water.

Salazar was surprisingly blunt.

He noted that Colorado Springs and Pueblo have been political antagonists for more than a century, and that background has made it difficult for the cities to work together. He said that CSU and the Colorado Springs business community have sometimes been less than responsive to the needs of their southern neighbors, but that he was hopeful that a new era of regional cooperation was dawning.

Speaking a little later about Pinon Canon, he said that, “People down there (in southeastern Colorado) felt that a golden curtain had dropped down at the El Paso County line.” Any new deal, he implied, would have to benefit the entire region.

He paid tribute to the influence of the business community, and to its ability to move debates away from ideology and toward problem solving. We need, he said, “a new conservation agenda.”

Responding, the chamber’s Dave Csintyan said, “We’ve gone to school on your comments,” noting that regional integration had moved beyond theory and into practice, particularly regarding the Pueblo-Colorado Springs cooperation on the Southern Delivery System, Fountain Creek and potentially many more issues.

“And,” he finished, “we have the Pueblo chamber with us today, and Woodland Park as well.”

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Posted by John Hazlehurst on September 30th, 2009 :: Filed under Uncategorized
Tags :: Chamber of Commerce, Hazlehurst, Ken Salazar, Washington D.C.

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