Originally Posted by Jim Day
".....delay this process to the new administrations of either candidate, both of want a more reasoned approach to marine resources..."
"The PSO engaged in the MLPA process constructively and in good faith. But when we have been critical of the process.....our concerns have fallen on mostly deaf ears...."
You know it's hard to figure out if you should laugh or cry.
I never supported Schwarzenegger even when most of the fishing industry wonks said he was going to be our MLPA savior, and I was not that surprised when concerns about his egotistical self serving nature fell on deaf ears with the push your favorite party partisan crowd, but I got to wonder now since these guys have now flipped and flopped and claim he's the bad guy: who the hell they are talking about when they claim that the next administration (it doesn't seem to matter which) is somehow going to help us when it comes to the MLPA.
Do they mean Brown the leftest environmentalist? Or Meg the tech queen who loves people like the NRDC because they wield a large voting block, and though they go after working stiffs like fisherman they for the most part leave people like her and her high end tech industry alone. To my knowledge neither of those candidates have spoken against the MLPA.
I completely support fisherman and their actions to keep their waters open, I'm angry as hell about the closures especially what they have done at Malibu, but at this point I am also sick and tired of the stupid BS, and the stories these lobbyists make up that seem change from day to day, based on whatever sounds best, or what might give them an advantage at any given moment.
I'm not attacking anyone individually here, but there are times you have to separate the wheat from the chaff, and I'd say it's likely we are not going to get anything that's a better deal from the next administration then what we have already seen on the table. Ideologically both those candidates are to the left of Schwarzenegger when it comes to environmental issues.
That said we are at the single most dangerous crossroad we have faced in regards to the MLPA since the day this process started, and if you ever considered getting involved you should probably get involved now.
Essentially we now face a huge enemy who has major control over what's going to happen when it comes to the MLPA! Our Governor Schwarzenegger is out for blood an he is going to screw us.
First off you have to understand Schwarzenegger's personality, he's essentially ego driven not ideology driven. By that I mean he's not so much interested in ideology or ideas but more interested and how they make him look. When he entered politics he thought he'd become a famous politician in the pattern of Ronald Reagan, that he might even rise higher office like a Congressman, or Senator. The gist is he thought he could do politics big time, and he has failed. The problem was that is his interest in politics is just superficial. He did not have the convictions of Reagan, and worse he was not willing to follow the lead of his advisers, or essentially take direction like Reagan. As a result he's made a lousy politician, and he's probably done with politics at the end of this term. Look at his administration, He's essentially got nothing to show for it. He Governed California into it's worse economic collapse in history, and right now that is it..
This man is extremely ego oriented, he wants something out of this he can point to and say: Look I accomplished this great thing. Like I said he's probably done with politics so he's going to have to go back into the film business in order to get the attention he craves........and a passed MLPA will play very well in Hollywood.
I think he was listening to his political advisers when he put Sustos in Bennighovens place, though Schwarzenegger probably did gave Sutsos marching orders on how he wanted him to vote on MLPA matters before appointing him. The idea being he wants the MLPA process pushed to a close as quickly as possible so he can get the credit when it's done. Sutsos evidently did not listen, attended one meeting, and then got canned. Schwarzenegger doesn't want any more delays. He fired Sutsos for not following his instructions, and for voting to slow things down. Bad enough but Sutsos was not only removed by Schwarzenegger but in his place the Governor appointed Bayliss into Bennighovens old seat, Bayliss who is Chairman of the Coastal Conservancy, who is as green as they come.
I have no doubt the enviros told Schwarzenegger that if they got the seat, they'd deliver, and get the MLPA done on his watch, but I also think the appointment of Bayliss is also an intentional slap in the face to fisherman, and therefore it's a huge red flag.
Schwarzenegger's saying that if we try to slow this down he's going to F us, and cut us right out of the process, but at the same time he's given us a no win situation where we have no choice. We can't back off, we have to fight him, otherwise we might end up in a worse position then we are already in now.
Again...Schwarzenegger' wants the MLPA to go through before he is out of office, he wants credit for it, he's appointed an Enviro into Benninghoven's old position, which means he's now working directly with them.
They now have a huge opportunity to get the Governor to help them push through the law with subtle changes and get the maximum restrictions on fishing possible. He wants to check the box whne it comes to the MLPA, and to be able to say he did it, and he's willing to cut deals with the enviros, to make that happen, and I seriously doubt he cares much at this point about how much turf or compromises he will have to give to the enviros to get it done. That means the maps that already have been worked out could well be redrawn to benefit the enviro side, which means we have to stop it from going forward until he's gone.
I.E. If we get a "Schwarzenegger Marine Life Protection Act of California." It is going to be a proverbial wet dream for the enviros and we now have to stop the MLPA from going through on his watch at all costs.
Schwarzenegger's no longer listening to his political advisers he's listening to his press agents, and pushing through the MLPA purely to hype up his return to Hollywood, or enhance his career.
Yeah Meg or Brown might not give us anything more then what we've already seen on the maps but Schwarzenegger is now willing to cut our throats to benefit himself, which means we will have to fight all the harder then ever to keep what we can.
I don't care where you are politically, we've been put in this corner, and now we really all do need to work together to stop Schwarzenegger at all costs.
Jim
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