See if you can pick out the finger pointing and see if you can figure out just really where this mess is. (Hint: It was long before Bush43)
THE STORY FROM THE WASHINGTON POST:
Ken Salazar and Barack Obama both arrived at the U.S. Senate in 2004, and if anyone is wondering just how close they are, consider this little-known fact: They looked for housing together and ended up renting in the same building on the same floor.
This Story
"We've been close. . . . He was number 99 in the Senate, and I was number 100," the new interior secretary said during an interview at his office. "He and I were tied for seniority in the last place, and under the rules of the Senate, when you have that kind of a tie, they determine seniority based on the population of the state."
A fifth-generation Coloradan, Salazar, 54, grew up on a ranch, where his mother still lives. You can still hear the slight lilt of his native "old" Spanish when describing his poor upbringing. It wasn't until he graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1981 that he brought electricity to the ranch.
Soft-spoken and cautious, Salazar bluntly declares that one of his major challenges is to "clean up" an agency that has been riddled with scandal, including the Minerals Management Service (MMS), which was found by the agency's inspector general to have "a culture of substance abuse and promiscuity"
Most recently, Salazar has focused on battling Republican senators holding up his choice for his deputy because the secretary rescinded Bush-era oil leases in Utah, saying they are too close to national parks. Senate sources predict that David J. Hayes will be confirmed as early as this week.
Romano: Your former Republican colleagues in the Senate are blocking David Hayes, your pick to be deputy secretary. What's happening with that?
Salazar: There was a mess that was left here by the prior administration, and it essentially revolves around a perspective around here that the laws were to be skirted, and the consequence of that is that we're dealing with many decisions that have had to be revisited. It's in the context of cleaning up the mess and bringing about . . . a new direction that there has been a swing back by some in the Republican Party. . . . The unfortunate legacy of the Bush administration is at the political level, there were ethical lapses and illegal activity that occurred that created a blemish on this department probably like no other . . . when you have deputy secretaries who have been sent to prison, when you have criminal conduct that essentially has taken place in MMS.
Romano: Are you reconsidering the Utah leases in light of the fact that they have thrown up these barriers to Hayes's confirmation?
Salazar: No. I am reconsidering the leases in the context of my decision, but not because of whatever it is that is going on in the Senate today. I made the determination that I was going to pull back on those leases and basically call a timeout so that I could review what had happened and make a decision on how to move forward.
Romano: It has been suggested that a lot of heads have to roll here [at Interior] . . . and that you are too nice, maybe, to do it. Are you too nice?
Salazar: I think that anybody who looks at my record will find out that I may be nice, but I think people will also tell you I'm tough as nails, and I have no problem in taking the right measures to make sure that this department is changed and that we get down to the bottom of some of the bad decisions that have happened here.
There were many decisions that were made which essentially, I think, were a reckless abandonment of the law and environmental considerations.
NOW SOME COMMENTS FROM ORDINARY CITIZENS:
skybride56 wrote:
The Bush legacy is nothing short of the biggest disaster we've ever seen. And, apparently he left no stone unturned when it came to this type of behavior.
5/19/2009 7:48:08 PM
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marrobcastle wrote:
Go Salazar! Walk the talk.
5/19/2009 7:24:02 PM
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MrPotatoHead98 wrote:
another lyin politician whose only goal is to put Americans out of work.
Yeah! Blame Bush for you putting Americans in Utah out of work.
You Millionaire DemoRats are disgusting
5/19/2009 7:12:29 PM
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smorrow wrote:
yep a h*** of a mess that will take years to undo.God Bless America.
5/19/2009 6:43:04 PM
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Eskiegirl302 wrote: (THIS IS ME)
So now what are you seeing with these incompetents up on the hill? Our businesses are leaving the country simply because they cannot pay the taxes they are being suffocated with, so there goes the jobs. They are coming into the private sector which they HAVE NO BUSINESS doing because its unconstitutional, we have the right to prosperity, they are stealing our money, by way of taxes. You watch, next tax is gonna be the gas tax increase. Why? no reason for it. All we gotta do is drill for our own to get away from dependence on foreign oil. People are leaving New York now because they cannot afford all these taxes, government is reaching into YOUR pockets for more money which you don't have. Everything is gonna go up. They are spending now money they don't have to spend and who do you think is gonna pay for that? YOU ARE. Through taxes. By the time they all get through, none of us is gonna own anything anymore. They are there to PROTECT our lives, our liberty, and OUR PROPERTY. This is the reason the government was created. They have so many illegal laws (some 4000) and people are not standing up for what is rightfully theirs. Don't let them take your stuff. And forget the labels. It doesn't matter if they are democrat or republican or whatever. If they are not protecting you, if they are harming you, and your representative is not doing his or her job, next election VOTE THEM THE HELL OUT OF THERE. Thats what you do. If government gets too big like its doing your not gonna be owning anything and your going to be dependent on government for everything. So you get what they decide you are going get and that is all. Now what happened to our own standard of living?
5/19/2009 6:35:06 PM
gsross wrote:
SALAZAR: "There was a mess that was left here by the prior administration, and it essentially revolves around a perspective around here that the laws were to be skirted..."
How right you are, Mr. Salazar. How, unfortunately, right you are.
5/19/2009 6:25:53 PM
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Eskiegirl302 wrote:
There was a mess that was left here by the prior administration, and it essentially revolves around a perspective around here that the laws were to be skirted, and the consequence of that is that we're dealing with many decisions that have had to be revisited.
Ok so where were the democrats when all this was going on? And why then did they let this happen? They had the control of congress. So I think they are just as much to blame for letting it happen as the republicans are for trying it.
5/19/2009 6:19:56 PM
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WillSeattle wrote:
The only good Republican is one found dead in a public park when a bear ate him.
Period.
5/19/2009 6:06:01 PM
TJMAN wrote:
This lament about the Bush administration,"They left the _____________ department a mess," should come as no suprise. He represents a party that basically believes that government is evil. The republican party representatives, mouth pieces, continually decry a strong central government. They feel that it does not work. They feel it is not efficient. It seems like each republican presidents performs worse than the one before him. The behind scenes and underlying principle from republicans is to limit the federal governments efficiency and tear it down in hopes of getting rid of it. It never seems to work though. The performance of government is terrible during a republican administration, but it never really gets smaller. They tear down, but never change it.
5/19/2009 6:06:01 PM
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WillSeattle wrote:
Incompetence and Corruption, thy name is GOP.
Now for the grownups to get to work!
5/19/2009 6:02:34 PM
Frigistan wrote:
Yes he did...in every area. The Saud family wasn't big enough to clean up after Bush as president.
5/19/2009 5:55:41 PM
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Shanan1 wrote:
Warning! If you keep on blaming Bush, his Administration and the Republican Party for the mess, we will unleash God’s wrath at you.
5/19/2009 5:48:16 PM
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drzimmern wrote:
I remember serving in the Pacific and thinking the Dept.of Interior was the most messed up group I had ever known. Bill Clinton was the president at the time. Its been messed up for 40 years! I don't like Bush, but this is not his fault.
5/19/2009 5:41:53 PM
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TalkingHead1 wrote:
Why is it a news at all that Bush Administration left yet another mess for the Obama Administration to clean up? There should be no surprise, at all, by now.
5/19/2009 5:19:05 PM
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TheodoreRoosevelt wrote:
Bush Administration Left a 'Mess,' Interior Secretary Says
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Obama wanted the job, he now has the job, knew how screwed up everything was and was given the job.
So stop biitching and do the job. Bush isn't President anymore Obama is.
5/19/2009 5:09:54 PM
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yokosuka1985 wrote:
Yeah right..blame the "other guy"..lets see this clown manage the parks...just another talking head...leach..live off the working class..blow the taxpayers money...have at pal!
5/19/2009 5:06:24 PM
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HughBriss wrote:
donbl wrote:
If you are not good enough to improve your area then blame the last guy.
Basic tenant of politics.....
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If you are not bright enough to write meaningful comments, then grab phrases out of the air, misspelling words at random.
Basic TENET of dopey conservatism ...
5/19/2009 4:54:42 PM
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RIPRussert wrote:
The Dept. of Interior under the Bush administration was not only proven to be corrupt and on the take, but also has dismantled our national lands. Please Salazar, do not back down. These oil drillers have enough land leased to drill on that is not used. We've raped our children's generation repeatedly in the last 8 years. Enough is enough!
5/19/2009 4:50:02 PM
Recommend (13)
wheelman wrote:
Bush was too busy getting our economy in tip top shape with the 1-2 neo-con punch of tax cuts and no regulation to devote much time to the DOI.He probably thought the Dept of the Interior had the job of decorating the White House.
5/19/2009 4:47:12 PM
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kevin1231 wrote:
The Republican party belongs to the criminal class. That is consistent with its philosophy. It has managed to do gigantic con job with the help of corporate media. Whether it will be allowed to return to power and resume its criminal activity remains to be seen.
5/19/2009 4:39:12 PM
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Do you see how silly some of this sounds? No wonder we have corruption in DC.
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