You know why Donald Trump is so popular out here in “flyover country,” where there are real, hard-working Americans? Because he’s not afraid to speak his mind. He doesn’t bother with appearances and inside-the-Beltway decorum where swamp dwellers never say what they really mean or think. Trump just says it–Tweets it, says it in speeches, in meetings. We love it! And we think more people in government should behave like Trump and just say what they really think. It looks like we have someone doing just that–a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) member, no less! Acting Chairman of FERC, Neil Chatterjee, had the temerity to tell the truth at an industry meeting yesterday. Chatterjee said that national enviro groups (antis) are using the legal system to delay approval of natgas pipeline projects. Er, a, OK. There’s really no mystery there. No revelation. No speaking out school. But the very fact that he said it has enviro antis up in arms–that he dared to simply utter the truth. Reuters is all concerned because uttering such truths is “rare for a regulator”–like maybe we should check Chatterjee to see if he has a fever. Since some of the worst of the worst–the Sierra Club and 350.org–have been repeatedly suing FERC (dozens of lawsuits!), it stand to reason (says Reuters), Chatterjee is talking about (gasp) those very groups! Ding ding ding ding. Give that Reuters reporter a prize. Chatterjee does, however, see a silver lining to all of these lawsuits: “Ultimately, lengthier approvals mean projects are better able to withstand legal challenge.” And that just ticks off the radicals all the more…
