Aug 31 Now He Cares?

After not caring about the Polymet permitting process for years, Jim Oberstar finally cares. Sort of:

It's been in the works for more than four years, but when the environmental review came out last fall, the federal government blasted the report as inadequate.

Oberstar says he wants a thorough review, but it shouldn't take so long.

"The red tape, the slowdown, the lack of full attention by federal and state permitting agencies has dragged this process out much too long," said Oberstar.

Oberstar said the No. 1 issue people talk about in northeastern Minnesota is jobs. And the Polymet mine promises 400 jobs.

"I've heard some concerns, 'Be careful about our environment. We love this land, we don't want our waters to be adversely affected.' And I've assured people that corners will not be cut, there will be no exceptions made, but we have to do this in an expeditious manner," he said.

It's been 4 years since the permitting and inspection process started. Finally, it's got the attention of Rep. Oberstar? Why didn't he take interest before this? There's a simple answer for why it's finally getting his attention: Tom Emmer has made this a focal point of the campaign and Sen. Dayton is looking like he doesn't care about job creation.

Enter Rep. Oberstar to cut the red tape. Enter Rep. Oberstar so jobs can be created. What a great guy Rep. Oberstar is. For that matter, what a great guy Sen. Dayton is.

There's just one problem with this picture. If Rep. Emmer hadn't brought it up, and if the issue hadn't gained traction, it's likely that this project still wouldn't be getting attention. Let's remember that Sen. Dayton wasn't worried about streamlining the permitting process during the final DFL debate before the primary.

As for Rep. Oberstar, why didn't he take an interest in the process long before this? Polymet's been run through the ringer for 5 years. Suddenly, he cares? Why didn't he care before the MNGOP candidate brought it up at a debate? Why didn't he care prior to Tom Emmer making this a major political issue?

Mining is the bread and butter of the Iron Range economy. Creating hundreds of jobs should've been Rep. Oberstar's first priority. Iron Rangers now know that it wasn't Oberstar's top priority.

Chip Cravaack is the MNGOP-endorsed candidate for MN-08. Unlike 'Lord Oberstar', Cravaack will represent the district. That's because he's actually listening to the people of the Eighth District. Had Rep. Oberstar listened to his constituents, he would've taken an interest in Polymet sooner.

Instead, he jumped into action when his political ally, Sen. Dayton, got into political hot water. That's just what I'd expect from the guy whose highest priority many years is getting bike paths built with highway Trust Fund money.

Sen. Dayton and Rep. Oberstar won't represent Minnesota because they're too busy catering to their political allies in the environmental movement.

Comments welcome at LFR.