The Wall Street Journal is alarmed, and you should be proud of the reason why. The newspaper ran a front page article in September describing wilderness proposals "from Virginia to Oregon" that Congress has under consideration. Reading more closely, you can see why this trumpeter of laissez-faire government and unfettered development is worried.
Many of these proposals are pushed by Republicans and Democrats alike, some with Republicans taking the lead. The reporter writes that "many of the bills enjoy strong bipartisan support in the states affected and so are nearly certain to become law." With that kind of broad backing, these bills "will be likely to win President Bush's signature," White House aides say.
It's not just the Republican support for these measures that galls the paper. The acknowledgement of "strong bipartisan support for wilderness preservation among both voters and politicians" is another way of saying Main Street USA wants these wilderness proposals. When the Wall Street Journal starts seeing Chambers of Commerce, realtors and homebuilders, even timber companies, as well as traditional conservation groups, line up behind these measures, you can understand why the article ran so prominently.
By what you're doing to build this support locally, you've turned their world upside down.
