Are you familiar with the brand of cheese called "Laughing Cow"? I frequently wonder whether it was the inspiration for the California Happy Cow advertising campaign. But that's neither here nor there, at least not this morning. I heard a news report about Nebraska US House Representative Lee Terry (R) that inspired the title of this post.
First, a little background. Lee Terry represents my district in the US Congress--more correctly, he represents the rightmost of the right wing voters in my district. [When called to account for his stand on any particular issue, even when the illogic of his position is pointed out to him in the most polite, most rational way, his answer is essentially "I'm right and you're wrong--get over yourself. I represent the people who voted for me, not people like you."--Ed.] Note that this district comprises the metropolitan Omaha area, the most urban area of Nebraska. That's not to say that there are no farmers in this district; there are many--but when compared to the rest of the state, metro Omaha is like New York City compared to the Australian Outback.
Terry initially won office on what he said was an ironclad promise to enact term limits, and to abide by them even if Congress didn't enact them. When it was time for him to fulfill his promise, however, he reneged. He spouts the far-right GOP line on every issue like an automaton. He takes more advantage of the franking process than anyone else in Congress I've ever seen, and most of the mail he sends touts his allegedly starring role in all GOP pet projects, whether his role was microscopic or less. He runs dirty, negative election and reelection campaigns. He is nothing but a hack.
So imagine my lack of surprise when he tried to grab attention after the EPA announced its finding that excessive greenhouse gas emissions are dangerous to humans. He had the gall to question EPA administrators as to whether the EPA's stand meant that the EPA would now regulate methane emissions from cattle. It is true that cattle are the single largest source of methane emissions on the face of this earth. It is also true that he asked his question in a relatively [for him--Ed.] mild tone, indicating perhaps a bit of lightheartedness. It is also true that the cattle industry is a big deal in Nebraska.
But really, now! The EPA's guideline says "excessive." By definition, what cattle emit cannot be excessive. Cattle emit what they emit. And what's it to Terry, anyway? He represents an overwhelmingly URBAN area. You'd think he'd be glad the EPA was doing something that will ultimately improve the quality of the air in urban areas by reducing what belches from our vehicles and factories and power plants . . . But no--he had to go and ask an idiotic-on-its-face question, and one irrelevant coming from him, to boot. So the stereotype of Nebraska as a state full of rural rubes and hicks is reinforced.
The female EPA administrator [whose name I did not catch--my apologies to her and to anyone reading this--Ed.] answered Terry's question with a decency and grace I admit I could not have mustered. Kudos to her. But as for Terry? I'm not laughing. He embodies the worst of Nebraska politics. Back in the Seventies, Nebraska US Senator Carl Curtis responded to an objection about one of President Nixon's Supreme Court nominees by asking what was wrong with mediocrity. "After all, mediocre people need representation, too."
Where have you gone, William Jennings Bryan?
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