Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

Re: Dan Quayle, Richard Nixon (Not What You Think)

Author:calvin@xmission.com
Posted:10/21/1999; 11:42:15 AM
Topic:Today's scriptingNews Outline
Msg #:12228 (In response to 12225)
Prev/Next:12227 / 12229

Have you ever met Dan Quayle? Do you know anyone who has worked with him?

During the Bush Administration my brother did an internship and was hired by then Vice-President Quayle.

During college my brother majored in chemistry and worked doing soil and various other kinds of analysis for Kennecott Copper. At about his 3rd year he switched majors to Political Science and Communications. I didn't understand why. He said that he didn't want to work as a chemist, even though he was 1 or 2 classes shy of his chemistry degree requirements.

I think of my brother as a very smart guy, and often more socially astute than I was. As kids he had the chemistry set, I had the various jars of pond water, toads, insects, black widows and terrariums growing in my room...but I digress.

My brother worked primarily on wetlands and environmental policy, under the VP. We were able to have many discussions about environmental policy issues.

I asked him a number of questions. One was, is Dan Quayle really an idiot. My brother's answer was no. He was actually a really smart guy. Apparently he had the tendency to think outloud and say stupid things. (I myself often have this tendency) We also talked about policy. He loved the work he did for the administration, but he hated the politics.

At the time, his group formulated a working basis for a new wetlands policy that was scientifically sound and that the army corp of engineers would back. Apparantly Dan Quayle thought it was a good idea too. But the political handlers didn't think it would fly at all because it was a republican proposal and the environmental groups would scream to high heaven about how the administration was trying to kill Great Blue Herons and pave over sensitive wetlands throughout the country.

When in fact they wanted to change the law so that places deemed wetlands under the current law (due only to soil types) could be deregulated and freed from the various lawsuits and appeals the army corp of engineers was enduring and insure that actual wetlands (soil types, plus water levels/saturations and vegitation) could be properly designated. Plus with the extra money they would save they wanted to buy up wetlands properties and have them turned into easements.

I read the policy myself, and I've given money to the Sierra club and a few other enviromental groups and definitely consider myself left of center. I thought it was great.

Guess who won?

the policy analysts afraid of the environmental backlash.

Needless to say it pissed of my brother.

He worked various jobs after the administration changed and now works as an aide for a congressman. But I don't think he has lost his preference that intelligent decisions be made based on the facts, or the science of things. I think he liked Dan Quayle a lot, because he shared that viewpoint with my brother.

-calvin

ps. I greatly enjoyed the Charlie Rose interview with Dan Quayle a few months back and was able to get glimpse into the kind of person my brother had worked with.

pps. for the most part, the questions and dialogue on TV suck. no hard questions about issues, only stupid questions about image. Sometimes I wonder if even today Franklin Roosevelt could be elected because he needed a wheel chair...or had an affair.

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