Rep. Richard "Dick" Pombo ...

Is gone, at long last ... here’s a tribute 5

... is a Rep. no more.

We bring you a special Grist tribute to the man who dreamt at night of shoving oil drills down the throats of endangered species.

[Tune to "The Way We Were" rises in background ...]

Ah, Dick. Remember when you tried to sell off drilling rights in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to fund transportation pork? That was insane funny. You always did have a sense of humor.

Who could forget your Ahabian quest to gut the Endangered Species Act? You were like the bad guy from a cheap horror movie, springing to life again and again. Points for persistence!

Then there was the time you put out a report saying mercury's not really so bad for you after all. Again, batshit insane completely hilarious. You cracked us up, Dick.

You also found your Will to Drill unduly restrained by NEPA, the nation's cornerstone environmental law, so you tried to gut that too. That was when you convened those Potemkin, hand-picked "task forces" -- no greens allowed! Good times, good times.

Speaking of drilling: when you couldn't get your tumescent drill into the Arctic Refuge, you turned to the nation's sloppy seconds -- offshore coastal areas. You were like some horny middle-aged businessman, drunk in a bar on a business trip -- you just couldn't keep your hands to yourself.

We always had to keep an eye on you, you scamp! Remember when you snuck in that provision altering some obscure mining provision? Oopsie -- there go tens of millions of acres of public lands!

From the beginning, you never really believed that anyone would seriously challenge you for your seat in the House. A good ol' boy like you? Look at those boots! Why, it was unthinkable. You laughed it off, and barely deigned to campaign or speak to the press for the past year. Even when Jerry McNerney -- a guy you thought you could steamroll without breaking a sweat -- started nipping at your heels, you refused to engage. Woops.

You embodied the cozy corruption, utter fealty to big industry, and mendacious faux conservatism of the 109th Congress. And now? Now you're gone.

Bye, Dick. You won't be missed.

David Roberts is staff writer for Grist. You can follow his Twitter feed at twitter.com/drgrist.

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  1. randino Posted 5:40 am
    08 Nov 2006

    Pombo AdiosI haven't been so happy to see a news flash from California, since the person I share a name with, Randy "Duke" Cunningham, went to jail. Any more good news like this and I will have to reconsider my traditional disbelief in a god.
    Randy Cunningham

    Randy Cunningham

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  2. Jason D Scorse's avatar

    Jason D Scorse Posted 5:50 am
    08 Nov 2006

    Something truly great to celebrate in CA....

    J.S. teaches environmental economics and blogs at http://www.voicesofreason.info.

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  3. sustainablogger Posted 3:10 am
    09 Nov 2006

    Thank you, David!Even with all the good feelings over the past couple of days, I haven't laughed that hard in a while...

    sustainablog: Blogging a greener world



    http://sustainablog.blogspot.com

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  4. usandthem Posted 12:23 am
    10 Nov 2006

    Pombo and big businessYes it has been wonderful to see the changes in leadership in the congress,but ever the pessimist.I would like to remind everyone that big business is still there and still powerful and still very big and rich,with a powerful friend in the whitehouse.Also remember that politics is politics and just because some one running for office said one thing doesn't mean that they will adhere to what was said.We still have to vote and watch what these people do while in congress and hold them to their promises.There still are the Pombo's,Nixon's,bush's,de Lay's and Rove's and Rumsfeld's of the world out there and they still want ALL of the pie at any cost.Sorry to be a wet blanket,but life goes on and we can not get lazy again and let powerful people and organizations do what ever they want at our expense.The environment has been dealt a severe blow in the past and will continue to need our help and watchfullness,and to this date nothing has changed YET!We still don't have a real plan for renewables,or oil independence,or cleaner oceans in place,so that battle must go on.

    Why not ask why!?

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  5. prometheus5700 Posted 7:43 am
    25 May 2007

    Do crimes disappear when the scoundrel is defeatedI don't hear anything about anyone pursuing the criminal activities of Dick Pombo. Did the crimes evaporate when he put his cowboy boots on and left Washington for good? Seems odd.

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