Disturbing Response from State Senator Benton on Jay Kehne Appointment

[pianoman9701]

My letter to Kirby Wilbur, head of the state GOP. Email address kirby@wsrp.org

"Dear Mr. Wilbur,

Please look at the second paragraph of this response from Sen. Don Benton's office regarding my former request to support overturning the appointment of Jay Kehne to the Wildlife Commission. Mr. Stipic basically says that out of courtesy, we don't normally oppose Gubernatorial appointments. Really, courtesy to Governor Gregoire on appointing an animal rights activist to the Wildlife Commission which writes the rules for hunters and the policies for wildlife management for the state? This attitude of "courtesy" toward this Governor is patently absurd in this context.

I'm a paying member of the pro-sportsman group Washington for Wildlife, which is a grassroots organization of about 300 Washington voters concerned deeply about the future of our hunting and fishing heritage. I also belong to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the NRA, and the US Sportsman's Alliance. The WFW is also closely tied to the hunting forum www.hunting-washington.com, which has in excess of 10,000 members and we post our concerns for everyone to see on that website.

What I and many other members of these two groups would like to know from you, Mr. Wilbur, is why you think we should vote Republican for anyone this fall when Republicans are so concerned about showing courtesy to one of our great state's most liberal governors? What has happened to checks and balances, and what has happened to our Republican vision? What is happening to the future of our important conservation work and hunting heritage?

I look forward to your reply and to sharing it with my fellow sportsmen and women. Thank you so much in advance for your thoughtful reply
John W."

[mossy8352]

This kind of corruption is what started the Tea Party (Not Democrat or Republican) and they have been successful in ferreting out this kind of thing. The problem is finding a way to organize (not OCW) a group that will stand up to the assaults that would come from removing the good old boys and installing non lawyer types to office in Olympia that will actually serve the public needs and not special interest groups. One vote will not change things but collective voting will.

[bearpaw]

Great letter, I would have added something about the fact that Kehne is no more than a paid lobbyist. 

[washelkhunter]

Isnt it time that the Wash state hunters had lobbyists?

[pianoman9701]

I'm a lobbyist of sorts when I write a letter and let them know it'll shown to a lot of hunters. We all can be lobbyists in our own right.

We do have some lobbying done by RMEF, USSA, and NRA performed on behalf of hunters in WA. Although, I would personally love to see the day when paid lobbyists are a thing of the past, all of them. It's a corrupt system of back-scratching and pandering which garners positive results for those with the healthiest bank accounts. Groups like HSUS and the Defenders have huge budgets with which to court susceptible and corrupt politicians. I would love to see a system where it would be illegal for lobbyists to contact politicians directly, but they could let them know only how many of their members who are voting constituents feel a certain way on a given issue.

[pianoman9701]

Great letter, I would have added something about the fact that Kehne is no more than a paid lobbyist. 

Bearpaw, please write one yourself and add that. That's a great point.

His email address is kirby@wsrp.org

[bearpaw]

Great letter, I would have added something about the fact that Kehne is no more than a paid lobbyist. 

Bearpaw, please write one yourself and add that. That's a great point.

Add Kirby's email to your post above so everyone can write him....

[Dave Workman]

Well, first and foremost, you're directing your anger at Kirby Wilbur, who is NOT Don Benton and really has no control over Don Benton, so in declaring war on the Republican party chair, which it kinda sounds like you did...just what did you accomplish?

Kirby is a good friend of mine, and he certainly understands how a politician can put his foot in it now and then, but that happens in both parties and the party is not responsible. It's the individual politician. 

Benton pissed you off. GO AFTER HIM. 

The tone of your note almost leads me to wonder if you are looking for an excuse to not vote for any Republican...and did you intend to do that anyway?

Benton is one guy. I've met him. He's not the party.

You don't like the appointments to the commission? Great, vote for McKenna and get rid of ALL of them. That's the ONLY way you will accomplish that. Vote for anybody but McKenna and you will be voting for anti-gun Jay Inslee.

You are going to vote for McKenna, aren't you?

And keep this in mind... If McKenna becomes governor, he is going to need a Republican majority in both house and senate to start undoing all the damage that has been done for the past 25 years. The party in majority names committee heads, appoints committee members, and controls the agenda.  Get the right people in control of natural resources committees in both houses and you can start changing the complexion and the agenda of the WDFW.  Hell you can even change the WDFW back to the Department of Fish and GAME.

Far too many people don't understand this or how the process works. They don't think things through.

Now, I'm not a Repub. I'm not a Dem.  But I understand them and their platforms because that's what I do for a living. To write about these characters accurately, one must understand them.

OUR people will get much more cooperation to promote OUR interests from the Republicans than from the Democrats, whose caucus is dominated by the liberal wing, despite some very good conservative Dems from rural districts. Fortunately, for us, there are some very pragmatic Dems who keep those people in check most of the time. but alas, with Dems in the majority, you get Adam Kline of Seattle chairing the Senate Judiciary Committee and as a result...GOOD GUN BILLS GET STALLED and BAD gun bills get proposed.

Want to change government and management here?  Elect a Republican majority and governor THIS year.  In 2014, elect some Libertarians and really make life tough for the liberal Dems.  Instead of passing new laws...REPEAL some old ones.  We're not going to be able to right all the wrongs in one election.  The other guys have had years to screw things up.  It will take years to fix things.

Patience and intelligent voting.  And you MUST VOTE. 

Way too many people in our ranks don't vote because they're too damned lazy. They spout off instead on the 'net and forums like this. They're all hot air and no action.

Years ago, when I was on the NRA board of directors, I had conversations with people who were angry about this gun law or that one, and almost invariably they asked why the NRA didn't do this or that to stop the law. 

I first asked if they were NRA members.
Nope
Then I asked if they voted.
Nope.
Then I told them to get the hell out of my face, and not always in such a diplomatic way.
Screw these people. 

[pianoman9701]

Actually Dave, I didn't direct anger at your good friend. I made him aware of a situation that confuses what the direction of the Republican Party is in this state, and I did let Sen. Benton's office know I didn't like the response about buddying up to the Queen out of courtesy.

I like some of your columns, Dave, but you're often very quick to jump on other hunters. I say other hunters because I assume you hunt but don't really know. Maybe you're not as concerned as I about the Jay Kehne appointment. I think it's a bad situation and representative of a broader problem in Olympia which we need to better control. When my elected representatives don't do what seems right to me for the people they represent, I'll let them know. If it reflects on the party, I'll let the party officials know. They work for me. If you don't like it, tough. Luckily, I don't predicate my actions based on your opinion.

And, I've never, ever missed a vote since I turned 18, 36 years ago. Although it's none of your business for whom I'll vote, I do intend to vote for Rob and support his campaign. You need to go find some liberal, gun-hating, hunter-hating zombie to attack. I'm not interested in fighting with someone who's most likely going to vote for the same people as I. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

[Bob33]

Pianoman, you wrote a good letter, and I believe the chair of a party should be aware of what the populace is thinking.  He will be telling voters to vote R and needs to understand why there may be apathy. Kirby is a good man and pro-gun and perhaps he can help Sen. Benton clarify his position.

[pianoman9701]

Pianoman, you wrote a good letter, and I believe the chair of a party should be aware of what the populace is thinking.  He will be telling voters to vote R and needs to understand why there may be apathy. Kirby is a good man and pro-gun and perhaps he can help Sen. Benton clarify his position.

Thanks Bob. I'm confident that questioning our elected officials on points which seem contrary to their platform is not a bad thing. I'm also speaking on no one's behalf but my own. If someone doesn't want me to speak out when I see something I don't like, they're going to be disappointed. The most important thing, in my humble opinion, is that conservatives get focused on the upcoming election and in a unified way, direct our aggression toward those who oppose those things which we hold dear. We need to figure out really soon how to distinguish our friends from our foes so we don't lose another election.

[Special T]

Dave W, Kirby is a great guy and the BEST person to be the Republican Chair. I'm guessing what has P-Man upset, because it bothers me, is that Dems rarely extend those kinds of curtsies to Republicans especially if they are governors.  So why do we play nice when they seem to stick their finger in our eye all the time? I would guess that Kirby would likely agree with our frustration. If the politics in this state was a give and take it might be ok.. Just wait and see how the Dems act over EVERYTHING that Rob Does as our new Gov.

I understand you frustration at the people that sit on the sideline, and feel the the same way. If you had read more in this forum you would realize that P-Man works at change and isn't part of the problem. If you really are as pissed as you come off, you need to take a deep breath. Many here are trying to organize the hunting crowd so getting bent at us won't help any. 

[Dave Workman]

Special T, Pianoman...

I 'AM' part of the hunting crowd and I've been trying to get that community organized for 30 years.
I was one of the founders of the Sportsmen's Rights Coalition, which is the ONLY outdoor group that ever had the balls to demonstrate on the capitol steps over crappy fish and game management. The SRC was actually my idea, created in an editorial I wrote in the old Fishing & Hunting News back in 1982 or 83, IIRC.

We're all frustrated, and I think part of the problem is that too many in our ranks don't seem to understand that in order to change things, we have to change Olympia, and that means changing the party in control, thus changing the culture. Put a new commission in place, they can hire a new director whose job will be to improve fishing and hunting first, put sportsmen interests ahead of everyone elses, and if necessary, take the tribes to federal court, take the wolf lovers to federal court (don't wait for them to sue us), get serious about predator control, lobby for restoration of hound hunting for cougars and black bears, remove the hunting license requirement for killing coyotes and encourage hunters to shoot every one of the frigging things they see, especially during calving and fawning periods. (Watch me take a bunch of crap from some people on this forum for that one!)

When I get e-mails from people who claim to be hard core 2A activists, yet they voted for Obama and Dicks and McDermott, I'd like to hit them in the head with a brick. How stupid is that?

They voted for Gregoire, they vote for Democrat after Democrat and then wonder why we have to repeatedly face anti-gun legislation, why taxes are high, yada yada.

Ditto for hunters who unconsciously (perhaps they're comatose!) pull that "D" lever time after time and then wonder why the WDFW is so screwed up; hunters who reflexively claim Dino Rossi is a crook because somebody told them.

Rossi had the election stolen in 2004, of that there is no doubt. I happen to know him and he is a good man. He would have been a phenomenal governor. He told the truth about budget deficits, and he's the guy who actually balanced the budget for Gary Locke when he was governor.

Maybe it's time for Benton to go. But don't replace him with a Democrat. Knock him off in the primary with a more conservative Republican and then make sure that "R" gets elected in November.

And ST, you are right about Dems not extending the same courtesies the expect from Repubs.  It's essentially because deep down inside, they consider themselves to be the privileged class, and the world revolves around THEIR needs and beliefs.  Thank heavens not all Dems are like that, just the ones who seem to be running the party since the 1960s.

I know some very good Dems - I'll not name them here to spare them the backlash from their own party - in Olympia.

Bottom line:  I'm from around here. 4th generation. I've hunted and roamed the high country since I was a kid, and that's a hell of a long time ago. I have seen hunting go downhill for decades.

I care about the resource. I know it can be better managed. But in order for that to happen, a lot of careers in Olympia need to end.


 

[KillBilly]

You are still missing some pieces of this puzzle. Neither Benton or Wilbur had anything to do with Kehnes appointment. That was all the Governor. Neither of them had anything anything to do with Kehne not getting confirmed. The fact is that the Committee Chair Kevin Ranker is totally to blame for not bringing it to a full floor vote. He chose that path because of the great amount of opposition.

Keep in mind that at least 5 other Commissioners are sitting in their positions unconfirmed and in each case the confirmation bill died in Committee. I sent Senator Bob Morton an email on this subject and here is his response.

Dear Al:
 
Thank you very much for your inquiry.
 
In 2007, I introduced a bill that would have provided an overhaul of the Department of Fish and Wildlife (Senate Bill 5793).   A portion of that bill was as follows:
 
(3) If a member is not confirmed by the senate within one year of that member's appointment, that member's position is considered vacated and the governor must appoint a registered voter within sixty days to complete the term.

The chairman of the committee gave the bill a hearing but would not bring it up for a vote.  If we have a change of political make-up in the legislature after this year’s elections, I may try the bill again.
 
Cordially yours,
 
BOB MORTON
State Senator

WE need to make sure we get a Republican Governor and then back Senator Morton in reviving (Senate Bill 5793) again.

[Special T]

Dave, Unless proved otherwise there are no more Scoop Jackson esk democrats in this state! Scoop was a friend of the family that EVERY ONE voted for. I agree that the only way to make real change is to vote in new republicans in primaries. I know a few "good" democrats but what ever good they do is overshadowed by what they have to support to stay in the good graces of the party. This state has a rich history of democrats that did not fit the typical mold. Sadly they have become the watermelons imported from California/ Green on the outside, red on the inside!  Like Ronald regan i will say "The democratic party left me, I didn't leave them!"