Led by the North Dakota Chamber, opponents sensed early that a small lie – the measure would take money from schools, roads, elderly programs, etc. – had legs. So abetted by school groups, local government representatives and farm organization spokesmen, the antis up-shifted that small lie to a big lie, and then added another one: That the measure would mean millions of dollars would flow to out-of-state “radical” environmental organizations that would buy up farmland. One at a time: Take money from other needs? The measure called for using 5 percent of one oil tax, not all oil taxes. If looked at as one dollar, it meant about 3 cents would go to the conservation fund, leaving 97 cents for everything else, such as dedicated statutory funds, highway money, schools and constitutional funds. All those repositories of state revenues are busting at the buckle. The not-enough-money argument was a canard. Out-of-state environmentalists would have gobs of money to buy up farmland? What a crock. The fund would have accumulated money for land purchases for, say, state park expansion or a state-run conservation reserve program. Real needs, by the way. But North Dakota has a law (the only one in the nation) that requires county officials and the governor to sign off on any land purchase that goes for conservation or wildlife habitat. Government would still have the power to kill a sale between a willing seller and willing buyer. The conservation amendment did not vacate that law. Further, any recommended expenditure from the fund would need the OK of the governor, attorney general and ag commissioner. Does any thinking person believe a North Dakota governor, Republican or Democrat, is going approve sending state money to an out-of-state “radical” environmental organization? Get real. So again, opponents of the measure were proponents of the big lie. It worked. Winning is nice. Sacrificing honesty, scuttling honorable behavior and defying ethical norms are not so nice. The win by Measure 5 opponents was impressive. But the way they won is a stain on North Dakota and on the character of the “no” leaders. No matter what they say, they can’t scrub it off.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 22:28:21 +0000
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