In an announcement that seems to have been delayed in order to sidestep public outcry, Dick Cheney has been invited to speak at the American Museum of Fly Fishing (this nifty bit of reporting via MidCurrent):
Moments ago we spoke with Cathi Comar, the executive director of the American Museum of Fly Fishing, and learned that the Museum has gone ahead with their invitation to former Vice President Dick Cheney to attend their annual fundraiser dinner in the fall.
The decision was reached late last week but not made public until now. Cheney has accepted and will attend. Comar explained that the Museum board discussed the decision at length over the past several weeks and ultimately decided that since the Museum’s role was historical, their primary duty is to record and preserve artifacts of fly fishing history.
When asked about Cheney’s obviously negative impact on fisheries conservation, Ms. Comar replied that the Museum chooses not to take sides on political or environmental issues. “Although we work with conservation organizations,” she said, “conservation itself is outside of our role.”
The last quote is telling: “Conservation itself is outside of our role” – a statement that leads me to believe that money falls inside the museum’s “role” more than fly fishing.
And one certainly hopes Ms. Comar appreciates the irony of the museum’s focus on history; without all the desperate conservation efforts undertaken during (and prior to) the Cheney presidency era, fly fishing might well be history at this point.
Ms. Comar, know that in your pursuit of dollars and nudge-nudge, wink-wink “look who I’m standing next to” name-brand speakers, you’ve pissed off pretty much anyone who spent the last eight years fighting to reverse Cheney’s frequent assaults on our fish, wild places and water quality here in the West.
Cheney – more than any other single person – was responsible for the massive salmon kill on the Klamath in 2002 – a process outlined in the seminal Washington Post story titled Leaving No Tracks:
Cheney's 2002 Klamath Fish Kill
Law and science seemed to be on the side of the fish. Then the vice president stepped in.
First Cheney looked for a way around the law, aides said. Next he set in motion a process to challenge the science protecting the fish, according to a former Oregon congressman who lobbied for the farmers.
Because of Cheney’s intervention, the government reversed itself and let the water flow in time to save the 2002 growing season, declaring that there was no threat to the fish. What followed was the largest fish kill the West had ever seen, with tens of thousands of salmon rotting on the banks of the Klamath River.
Characteristically, Cheney left no tracks.
The Klamath case is one of many in which the vice president took on a decisive role to undercut long-standing environmental regulations for the benefit of business.
Interestingly, Marshall’s MidCurrent story suggests a letter was sent to all those who complained about the museum’s choices, but I’ve received no such letter (perhaps if I’d mailed in a donation with my complaint).
Naturally, the letter in question wholly sidesteps the issue:
In a board-approved letter to the many fly fishers who have complained about the Museum’s decision, Comar notes that the Museum has never allowed political reputations to influence its decisions about whether to include and display the fishing equipment of the various presidents or vice presidents.
The question isn’t one of simple popularity, and you’ll notice she’s equating collecting and displaying equipment with giving someone like Cheney a forum to speak.
Display some of Cheney’s gear? Fine. Historians will wonder how he could profess to enjoy the very thing he spent eight years trying to destroy.
Give him a forum to rewrite history on this subject?
You not only lost the logic train there, you lost me as a supporter. But then, since I don’t have much ability to contribute to the museum’s “role” (gathering cash), I gather my support probably doesn’t matter much.
See you anywhere but at the American Museum of Fly Fishing, Tom Chandler.
UPDATE: Buster Wants to Fish weighs in (more with killer graphics than words, but they make their point)
UPDATE: Ted Williams – who has led the protest from the start – weighs in on the latest news.
UPDATE: Alex at Hatches lists the “Top Five Cheney Exhibits” at the museum (funny stuff)
UPDATE: Eric Sharp of the Detroit Free Press weighs in (incredulously)
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