Recently, Rebecca Otto voted against approving exploratory leases for precious metals. This website, titled Dump Otto, was quickly created to show how upset the Iron Range DFL are with Otto:
Auditor Otto says that she and her family live “in a wind-powered, passive solar home they designed and built with their own hands” in ritzy Marine on St. Croix, MN, a Twin Cities exurb. She also says she owns a hybrid car. It may be news to Otto, but wind energy, solar energy and hybrids ALL depend on copper and nickel.
A single 3MW wind turbine needs 4.7 tons of copper. Where does Auditor Otto think that copper should come from?
Rebecca Otto stirred up a hornet’s nest by voting against these leases:
But the real issue is that an elected official who has received significant support out of Northeast Minnesota over her past elections not only voted against a generation of potential new mining jobs, but then she sent out a fundraising letter bragging about it.
That paragraph sounds like Iron Range DFLers are taking things a bit personally. They even corrected her for not telling the truth:
She says that copper mining hasn’t “gone well” anywhere it’s been done. That’s not true. She obviously hasn’t done her homework. She’s clearly never heard of the Flambeau Mine - right next door in Wisconsin. It operated for several years and has been totally reclaimed, and has been found to be in full compliance with all Wisconsin standards.
I’ve written about Flambeau in this post. In fact, I included these before and after pictures of Flambeau in that post:
This picture shows the restored mine site:
I just wish these Rangers would figure it out that the DFL is ruled by Metrocrats who hate mining with a passion. Theoretically, Sen. Bakk is from the Arrowhead but that’s more facade than truth. I looked at his campaign disclosure form last spring. What’s interesting is that he got a single contribution from northern Minnesota. The rest of his campaign contributions came from the Twin Cities. In verifiable terms, Sen. Bakk is a Ranger in name only. He, like Ms. Otto, is a Metrocrat who doesn’t fight for mining jobs.
Technorati: DumpOtto.com, Rebecca Otto, Executive Council, Mining Leases, Precious Metals Mining, Flambeau River, Solar Panels, Wind Turbines, Tom Bakk, Metrocrats, Militant Environmentalists
The DFL now have their own RINO in Senator Bakk ; Ranger In Name Only.
And yet the DFL faithful on the range and everywhere else in MN will continue to vote for those limousine liberals that vote to deny good paying jobs to those that so desperately need them. They get the government they deserve.
Gary:
I realize that they were working to dump Otto, but didn’t Dayton and Swanson who are running for reelection cast the same vote along with Mark Ritchie?
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN