Sally Jewell - Obama's Newest Environmental Soldier

Just in case anyone believes President Obama's shout out to environmentalism and climate change during his inaugural address was just for show, here's a little something to dissuade that false hope. If you don't know who Sally Jewell is, you should educate yourself. She is Obama's choice to replace Ken Salazar as Interior Secretary. The head of REI, a fitness company, she lines right up with the rest of the Obama administration and their radical agenda of combating climate change and pushing environmentalism down our throats.

(The Wall Street Journal via Human Events)In naming Sally Jewell as Interior secretary, President Obama lauded the REI boss as a woman who “knows the link between conservation and good jobs.” Tell that to Kevin Lunny.

Mr. Lunny runs an 80-year-old California oyster business that had the bad luck decades ago of being enclosed in a federal park. On Monday, as Ms. Jewell polished her acceptance speech, a federal judge ordered the business evicted. Among the organizations working hardest to destroy the livelihood of Mr. Lunny and his 30 workers was the National Parks Conservation Association. Ms. Jewell is vice-chairman of its board.

Far from a creative choice, Ms. Jewell is just the newest addition to Mr. Obama’s second-term team of loyal ideologues. It is in fact Ms. Jewell’s (relatively unknown) history on the environmental fringe, and her liberal policy prescriptions, that surely made this an easy Obama call. The president knows he can rely on Ms. Jewell to do for the federal government exactly what she’s done at an activist level: Lock up land, target industries, kill traditional jobs.

Sounds like standard operating procedure for those who believe it is their duty to stop climate change and advance their own agenda. Never mind how many jobs are going to be lost, or how many lives are going to be negatively affected. It is their duty and by the gods, they intend to stop the actions they believe are causing climate change. No, President Obama's mention of climate change was not just in passing. By nominating Sally Jewell for Interior Secretary, he is showing more of his true colors. Sally Jewell is also known for giving over $100,000 each year to the Conservation Alliance, a foundation that was created by REI in 1989. This foundation funnels money to radical environmental groups to help further their agenda.

The Conservation Alliance openly boasts of how many leases it halts, and how much land it seals off from development. Part of her appeal to Obama is her support for the kind of carbon taxes that would destroy our already-fragile economy, in the name of the bizarre “climate change” religion.

If this isn't enough good news for one day, consider this. Remember how President Obama and the liberal Democrats shoved Obamacare down our throats? For our own good, of course? Sally Jewell was at the White House in 2009 to help push for the passage of that monstrosity. Here is what President Obama had to say then.

(The Daily Caller) “And then REI, which has to be fit since they’re a fitness company,” Obama joked during the White House meeting on May 12, 2009, “has been doing work that allows them to provide health care coverage, health insurance, not only to their full-time employees but also their part-time employees. Every single employee is covered, but part of the reason they’re able to do it is because they put a big emphasis on prevention and wellness.”

Sally Jewell was all for Obamacare while it was in the process of being pushed through Congress, against the will of the people. If she came to the White House to support the President, surely she must have believed it was a good and proper piece of legislation. She must have believed it was the right thing to do. I wonder how she feels about it now? She must have changed her mind because two years after Obamacare was signed into law, Sally Jewell secured a waiver from the requirement that REI provide health care coverage for 1,180 of their employees. If the law as good and proper in 2009, what happened in two years to change her mind?

Could it be that Sally Jewell and her accountants finally figured out how much money REI was going to have to pay to provide health care coverage? Surely, that wasn't what happened. I'm sure she asked for the waiver to help reduce REI's carbon footprint. Yes, that has to be what she was thinking.

Sounds a lot like Al Gore. Rules for thee, but not for me.

Cross posted at Political Realities...If you enjoy this content, please consider subscribing to Political Realities, either via the RSS feed or the email newsletter.