Where I Stand — Brian Greenspun: Politics fouls the air

Friday, Jan. 24, 2003 | 4:21 a.m.

TAKE A WHIFF of that.

Perhaps it is because I am a bit under the weather this week that I am more sensitive to congressional action -- or is it inaction -- that has the effect of causing more air pollution, not less, to float across this great country of ours. Or, perhaps, it is simply because creating an opportunity for businesses that currently pollute our air to continue to do so, and in even greater amounts, sounds like the exact opposite way this country should be moving.

Whatever the reason for my concern, the simple fact that the U.S. Senate voted this week to allow major polluters to continue their breathtaking ways should cause everyone who is even remotely interested in being able to take a deep breath to sit up and take notice.

What the Senate did Wednesday is not surprising in the year 2003. A quiet but certain dismantling of many of the rules and regulations that have tried to promote clean air and drinkable water for the past few decades has been under way ever since the regime change took place in Washington, D.C., two years ago.

Admittedly, there are some onerous rules and regulations that are outdated and that should be removed from the books, but most of the laws that govern the extent to which any one company can befoul the environment are there for good and useful purposes. If anything, rather than remove them, the Congress should strengthen them so that young children with asthma -- it is almost an epidemic, you know -- will not suffer needlessly just so someone else can make an extra buck.

As for those of us who are in or are quickly passing through the middle ages, and who will become more susceptible to breathing problems as we grow older and the air grows dirtier, what are we to make of a leadership in Washington that encourages the polluters to do their dirty work in the face of facts that cry out for cleaner, more breathable air, not the opposite!

The vote itself was not of great moment. There have already been a few of them, most of which are helping to create an atmosphere unfit for healthy existence. The kids say "been there, done that." I say who among us over the age of reason and responsibility can't remember the smog-filled days of yesteryear when old and young alike had to stay inside for fear of the unthinkable once we ventured out? Do we really want to go forward to a past filled with so much filth that we can actually see what we are breathing?

I think not. Unfortunately, there are 50 U.S. senators who think our father's smog is good enough for our children.

There is no surprise in the 45 Republican senators who voted in the majority to befoul our air. That seems to be their raison d'etre. (Yes, Nevada, our junior and environment-loving senator, John Ensign, joined his GOP colleagues in voting to put asunder that which God had once created so pure.)

The real story here is which Democrats flopped to the dark side and why, and which Republicans joined the Democratic minority that was trying make a responsible vote for millions of Americans instead of millions of dollars.

My friends, remember these names because they will each make their way through the Silver State come election time. If they tell you they are in favor of clean air, clean water and other things green and natural, hold this vote up to them and ask them why.

Let's start with the Democrats: Sens. John Breaux, Mary Landrieu, Blanche Lincoln, Zell Miller and Mark Pryor all moved away from what should be natural Democrat Party tendencies, i.e., to support things environmental, and sided with the GOP. By doing so, they allowed the polluters to continue their dirty ways. Why?

Well, Breaux and Landrieu are from Louisiana. Pryor and Lincoln are from Arkansas. Miller, of course, is from Georgia. What do Arkansas and Louisiana have most in common? They are two of the most flagrantly polluting states in the entire country. Think smokestack and you see those two states. As for Miller? I guess he is more comfortable toeing the Republican line, especially since his state turned out a good, decent and honorable American the last time out, Democratic Sen. Max Cleland.

So the polluters voted to protect their own. However disgraceful, it is understandable. Why did the Republicans break ranks with their environmentally unfriendly president, George Bush?

Sens. Lincoln Chafee, Susan Collins, Judd Gregg, Olympia Snowe, John Sununu and John McCain sided with their Democratic colleagues who tried to prevent such a foul act. What do they have in common?

Each of them represents a state, which, because of the way the wind blows, gets dirtier every time the smokestacks fill the air with crud. The wind blows it all eastward and upward, and those people living in some of the most environmentally pure areas of the country get filthier every time.

So the Democrats from states that befoul the air voted to continue doing their worst. And the Republicans from those states that are in harm's way voted to stop the mindless madness of the polluting class. Votes like these make it hard for people keeping score to tell the good guys from the bad guys.

It was McCain's reasoning that should make this one easy when we try to decide which side of the vote was for the people and which side was for the filthy, moneyed interests.

McCain is, as we know, a rather independent person who likes to say that he votes his conscience.

When asked why he voted with the Democrats and against his own leadership, his answer was simple. He explained his vote in just two words, "Clean air."

Ask John Ensign and his colleagues why John McCain's reason wasn't good enough for them.

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