Of course not. And neither does anyone else, or more Democratic appointments would be women and persons of color.
Obviously they do, or the Deb Haaland announcement would not have focused that much on her Indian identity.
Not old men from good families in the Northeast, as is more often the case.
As always, you are completely off base. There is exactly one cabinet level designate that fits that description - John Kerry. And even among those of any age, gender or geographic origin, whites are in the minority despite being a majority of the population. This is in no way a cabinet that reflects the demographics of America. And you want even fewer white people - I guess you far leftists identity politics freaks will not be happy until no cabinet pick is a white man.
Ah, so as long as they are kneepdeep in the oil industry, they're qualified to run the DOI.
You don't have to be kneepdeep[sic] in the oil industry, but it surely helps to understand the nature of the issues involved. Deb Haaland has no clue for example.
Tell me, how was Jewell in any way qualified to deal with the legal and diplomatic elements of her role?
She had lawyers on her team. It is important for the department leader to understand the meat of the matter, the big picture - the legal minutiae can be hashed out by lawyers on staff.
What about the ecological and land management aspects?
I think she had a good understanding of it. DAPL is a sound project on both ecological and land management grounds.
Remember, the Keystone XL pipeline protests were the result of her ignorance and mismanagement of Native affairs.
First of all, it was DAPL that led to months long protests (often turning violent) and not KXL.
Second, no amount of diplomacy would have prevented the anti-DAPL protests. The tribe was dead set against it despite the DAPL company being very forthcoming with consultations and making adjustments to the project. And then there are the 1000s of eco-extremists who descended to the site, many from as far away as Queens or Hawaii, burning many tons of oil in the process.
It was either capitulate to them or push forward with the project and damn the torpedoes thrown by "peaceful and prayerful" protesters.
You were not here then, but DAPL was discussed at length here at the time.
Why are so-called "progressives" and "liberals" so deferential to religious nonsense by Indians?
Dakota Access Pipeline Route Denied Near Standing Rock
Basically, the claims by the tribe and the protesters were scientifically and bogus. And the protesters were highly counterproductive.
The DOI is a labyrinthine, poorly defined department, and running it effectively is probably beyond the direct experience of any one person, unless they just happen to be a quadruple major forester, petrologist, diplomat, and legal scholar with work experience in five different specialized industries. But I definitely disagree that being in bed with the oil industry should be the only necessary "qualification".
It is certainly a far better qualification than being an English major.
Besides, having a preexisting animus against the industries it will be under her purview to regulate is a detriment for a department head.
Which were the result of DOI mismanagement, so, good. She should be advocating to do a better job next time.
No, the protests were a result of misinformation promulgated by the tribe and the anti-oil activists. Nothing but capitulating and cancelling the project would have prevented the protests.
This is a dumb claim easily researched, she's shown no such animus. New Mexico's oil and gas have been doing just fine these past eight years,
How does that show that Deb Haaland has no animus toward the oil industry? She is not, and never has been, a member of the New Mexico state government. She had run for Lt. Gov. but lost.
But she does support AOC's GND which is hostile to fossil fuels even as necessary transition to low carbon future.
New Mexico oil and gas industry condemns Deb Haaland nomination as secretary of interior
I hope the Senate does not confirm her. Even if Ossoff and Warnock win, there is still Joe Manchin.
indeed, exploitation of the Permian basin is exploding. I presume you object to her support for regulating that industry. But that is the job of the Secretary of the Interior.
No, regulation is necessary. I suspect she will automatically kibosh any fossil fuel related project though. She may even try to shut down DAPL, as activists have demanded.
So your problem isn't really with her qualifications, is it?
Both her lack of qualifications and her radical positions.
Being compromised by your personal investments in an industry isn't a qualification in the normal sense of that term. Your problem is that you want a partisan hack who will look the other way no matter what the industry does, and that obviously isn't Haaland.
Wrong. I want somebody who is not a political hack who will automatically be against the energy industry because of political ideology.
