Politics sinks historic lookout

In his new book, “Things That Matter,” columnist Charles Krauthammer reduces a familiar, soul-deadening enterprise to its essence.

“Politics, the crooked timber of our communal life, dominates everything because, in the end, everything—high and low, and, most especially, high — lives or dies by politics,” Krauthammer writes. “You can have the most advanced or efflorescent of cultures. Get your politics wrong, however, and everything stands to be swept away.”

Last week, getting the politics wrong snuffed the chances for a sensible bill that rights a wrong, namely saving the Green Mountain fire lookout in the Glacier Peak Wilderness Area. The bill, championed by Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and Reps. Suzan DelBene and Rick Larsen, puts the brakes on a 2012 ruling by the U.S. District Court in Seattle to remove the historic structure. Restoration of the Civilian Conservation Corps-era gem in 2002 violated the 1964 Wilderness Act because workers used motorized equipment in its repair. But the court’s original remedy — tear it down — stood logic on its head.

A U.S. Forest Service’s court-compelled report recommended the use of a helicopter to relocate the lookout to Circle Mountain in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. The strategy is to employ a chopper in violation of the Wilderness Act to uphold the Wilderness Act.

The keep-it-where-it-is fix is uncontroversial in the Senate. The Green Mountain bill would have been easy to shepherd in the House as a stand-alone bill. However, House Natural Resources Committee Chair Doc Hastings — a fellow Northwesterner, no less — opted for the monkeying option (see “getting your politics wrong,” above), conflating the Green Mountain bill with a series of exploitive measures to loosen off-road vehicle use, grazing and other unrelated issues.

The omnibus bill passed the House, but it’s dead on arrival in the Senate. Hastings’s non-public interest agenda is pure politics (read: If I can’t have mine, you can’t have yours, however sensible it may be.)

Both DelBene and Larsen had to vote against their own bill since it was hitched to Hasting’s omnibus embarrassment.

“There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that had this bill been brought up on its own, by its own merits, it would have passed with overwhelming, bipartisan support.” DelBene said on the House floor last week. “Green Mountain Lookout represents a significant piece of the Pacific Northwest’s history and it deserves to be protected..”

If only we could straighten, just a little bit, that crooked timber.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Opinion

toon
Editorial cartoons for Thursday, March 28

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Initiative promoter Tim Eyman takes a selfie photo before the start of a session of Thurston County Superior Court, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, in Olympia, Wash. Eyman, who ran initiative campaigns across Washington for decades, will no longer be allowed to have any financial control over political committees, under a ruling from Superior Court Judge James Dixon Wednesday that blasted Eyman for using donor's contributions to line his own pocket. Eyman was also told to pay more than $2.5 million in penalties. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Editorial: Initiative fee increase protects process, taxpayers

Bumped up to $156 from $5, the increase may discourage attempts to game the initiative process.

Protecting forests and prevent another landslide like Oso

Thank you for the powerful and heartbreaking article about the Oso landslide… Continue reading

Boeing’s downfall started when engineers demoted

Boeing used to be run by engineers who made money to build… Continue reading

Learn swimming safety to protect kids at beach, pool

Don’t forget to dive into water safety before hitting the pool or… Continue reading

Comment: Why shootings have decreased but gun deaths haven’t

High-capacity magazines and ‘Glock switches’ that allow automatic fire have increased lethality.

Washington state senators and representatives along with Governor Inslee and FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez break ground at the Swift Orange Line on Tuesday, April 19, 2022 in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Editorial: Community Transit making most of Link’s arrival

The Lynnwood light rail station will allow the transit agency to improve routes and frequency of buses.

An image of Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin is reflected in a storefront window during the State of the City Address on Thursday, March 21, 2024, at thee Everett Mall in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Editorial: State of city address makes case for Everett’s future

Mayor Franklin outlines challenges and responses as the city approaches significant decisions.

FILE - The massive mudslide that killed 43 people in the community of Oso, Wash., is viewed from the air on March 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Editorial: Mapping landslide risks honors those lost in Oso

Efforts continue in the state to map areas prone to landslides and prevent losses of life and property.

toon
Editorial cartoons for Wednesday, March 27

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Burke: ‘Why not write about Biden, for once?’ Don’t mind if I do.

They asked; I’ll oblige. Let’s consider what the president has accomplished since the 2020 election.

Comment: Catherine missed chance to dispel shame of cancer

She wasn’t obligated to do so, but she might have used her diagnosis to educate a sympathetic public.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.