It is a popular pastime among the more liberal/affluent classes of the Democratic Party to bash the working class/union Dems that populate half the party’s registry.  And one of this groups’ favorite targets is Congressman John Dingell.

So, I have to admit some surprise that the Seattle Times published a piece of commentary that was extremely favorable to Dingell.  It’s too late, of course, for Dingell to salvage his committee chairmanship.  But it’s not too late for the liberal, coastal Dems to realize that the moderates have worthy ideas and outlooks as well.

Check out the story.  Excerpt and link:

U.S. Rep. John Dingell, recently removed as chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, has touched the lives of people all over this country because of the unique reach of the committee he has served since 1955. He has a hand in everything from the communication technology you use to the air you breathe.

But for us, 1,500 miles from his congressional district along Lake Erie south of Detroit, Dingell’s love of one of our fish, the steelhead trout, and his firm grip on energy policy nearly 30 years ago profoundly affected the way we conduct the electricity business in our region.

The steelhead is a highly successful Midwest transplant of a Northwest icon. A powerful fighter, it is a rainbow trout that goes to sea and grows bigger and stronger than its stay-at-home cousin. Starting 120 years ago, fishermen from the Midwest started planting offspring of the fish they caught on our great Steelhead rivers — the McCloud, the Stillaguamish, the Klamath. Over time, the fish made the same journey they did here only in the Great Lakes and made it possible for citizens there to stand in 35-degree water that is moving way too fast for comfort and cast for steelhead in a stiff, hypothermic motion, just like we do out here.

An outdoorsman, and back then a highly mobile one, Dingell loved doing just that and was hardy enough to outlast any companion and connect with plenty of fish.

His love of the outdoors and his experience with the salmon in Lake Erie made Dingell highly influential and knowledgeable in the development of the Pacific Northwest Power Planning and Conservation Act. This law redistributed the output of federal power generation in the Northwest, put conservation on the table as the first choice for new power and laid the Bonneville Power Administration’s checkbook next to it. The bill also had the effect of saving the region’s aluminum industry for a decade and significantly increased the influence of the states on federal electricity policy through the four-state Regional Power Council.

Full story:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2008447156_opin29royer.html

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