Congressman John Doolittle at the Lake Tahoe Summit

In 1997 Democratic Nevada Senator Harry Reid invited President Clinton and Vice-President Gore to attend his first Lake Tahoe Summit (LTS) to lend their influence to preserving this natural treasure. Clinton and Gore spent a few days highlighting Lake Tahoe. The result was national attention focused on preserving the lake and ultimately over $320 millions appropriated for its preservation.

At this year’s LTS on August 10 at Sand Harbor, Nevada, Congressman Doolittle and his henchman Bruce Kranz made their first appearance. Doolittle lauded himself for being instrumental, along with Senator Feinstein, in bringing funds to Lake Tahoe. Doolittle’s hypocrisy was incredible even for him. On a national survey on environmentally friendly Congressmen, Doolittle received 4%.

Responding to a protestor at the recent American River Dam Council meeting at Sunrise Mall, Doolittle said, “I love the canyons. Only I will love them more when they are flooded. I will do everything I can to see they are flooded.”

Doolittle’s presence at the LTS shows how desperate he is to be re-elected. Democrat Charlie Brown has caused Doolittle to masquerade as an environmentalist. Doolittle is many things, most of which have been broadcast nationally, but he is NOT an environmentalist.

All the Republicans at LTS stayed on message: “better to vote for an imperfect bill now to preserve the lake than wait for a perfect bill.” In other words Congress should vote for a flawed bill. They used fear of a catastrophic fire at Tahoe to try to persuade environmentalists to support their gifting Tahoe’s forests to loggers, easing of Air Quality Regulations and building codes for developers.

Nothing Doolittle involves himself in benefits anyone but his financial backers. He believes that the voters are so uninvolved and disconnected that he can get anything he wants. All that is necessary to lose Lake Tahoe is to let Doolittle have his way.