Make no mistake. Hastings is a corrupt incumbent with a huge advantage and a lot of pull. His general apathy toward censure and correction and honesty have proved that he is perfectly comfortable where he is at, and does not intend to change anytime soon. Indeed, the incumbent stands as a prime example of someone so corrupted by politics that they engage in politics for no other reason than to retain power.

We encourage all of our readers to stay informed about the big issues, and still take action whenever you can. Our democratic system may be one that gives us results that we don’ like, but at the same time, you can get results.

In fact, we encourage our readers to find other ways to take action through the web. Find Facebook groups with similar views to yours. Follow the big names on Twitter, or start your own and work on getting things done that way. Utilize social media to gain awareness and followers.

Some of the most impressive political movements of the last few years have started out online, as the thought of a single person. The only thing preventing you from making your voice heard in some way is you!

Speak up. Fight back. And, good luck.

It means that traditional laws surrounding these protected havens can be ignored in order to tear them up for “security purposes”. Homeland Security has a long record of bulldozing down existing safeguards in order to “protect”, but the intrusion into the parks in unheard of so far.

When it all comes down to it, the lawmakers pushing this bill, including our own dear Doc Hastings, are merely looking to destroy the environment in order to push pointless legislation in order to look busy. It’s like the equivalent of popping a few Skittles as a placebo, but knowing in advance that it’s a placebo. There simply is not adequate reason to destroy and militarize national parks, especially because they are the last bastion that haven’t been taken apart in the name of national security.

…Also, I have news, people. If immigrants are able to get through the most advanced border protection system in the world in the most concentrated and trafficked spots every year while literally staring at armed agents and dogs and choppers and jeeps, why on earth do we think that tearing up national parks is somehow going to stem the tide?

People will find a way around this, especially in the most remote locations. Of that we can be sure. Of course, we could simply surround the entire country in a dome. It worked out great in The Simpsons Movie, after all.

Instead, Clough is going to focus his attention on November where he will have a showdown with state Rep. Brad Klippert. Clough cited wanting to stay close to his family and advocate for education and jobs at the state level as his reasons to step down from his efforts.

While we wish Jay Clough the best with his family and future, we now have to ask “who will challenge Doc Hastings now?” Unless someone stands up and is willing to fight for the spot, we may well be facing another term of Hastings spreading corruption throughout the government.

Hastings already has incumbent advantage on his side, as well as a network of powerful corporate connections which are interested in keeping him in office. As such, he is going to be rough to take down, even assuming the fight is a fair one.

Although the situation may seem like a foregone conclusion, we are still holding out hope that Hastings can be stopped during this election. Dafter the last few years of selfish calls and corrupt dealings, the people of Washington should be ready for a change. Keeping Hastings is not going to solve the problems with this state- it is going to make them worse. Hopefully, people can see that and take the action needed to get a fresh perspective and way of doing things in that seat.

Republican politicians across the nation have silenced themselves concerning the matter to ensure that they will continue to financially benefit from their close ties with those companies that are funding them. Doc Hastings has never been ashamed of the fact that he is heavily funded by energy companies and the large oil companies.

The money that Doc Hastings gets from these companies with special interests is so important to him, that he would rather make them happy than represent his constituents. In fact, he has shown a complete lack of respect for his position and his responsibilities as a congressman. His high rate of absences from votes and his lack of regard for his constituents’ correspondence is appalling.

As it becomes more and more important to recognize our climate change problems we need a representative that can act of his own free will and listen to his constituents rather than playing a pawn to energy and oil companies. Doc Hastings, the man that votes with the Republican party more than the average congressman, has shown that he does not have what it takes to be a congressman that our nation means.

Scientists have come to the conclusion that it takes just about 42 years for a species that has been put on the endangered species list to recover. Kieran Suckling, the executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity in Tucson said, “What we should be asking is: Are we preventing extinction? … The ESA is 99.9 percent effective in preventing extinction.”

For as much good as the ESA has done, we are not surprised at all to learn that Doc Hastings has taken it upon himself to change and overhaul this law. Something that has been working for all of these years to protect our environment may be brought down by Doc Hastings.

If it is not bad enough that Doc Hastings has a blatant disregard for endangered species, we can also see where his allegiance really lies. Clearly, it does not lie with his constituents but rather with the big oil and energy companies that are excited about the ESA to be reformed.

At this crucial time in our Earth’s history it is important that we have leaders that will recognize the importance of the environment and act accordingly. Doc Hastings seems to be more concerned with the companies that fund him than with anything else.

It might go without saying, but politicians making decisions based on corporate backing is nothing new. That being said, such backing is one of the most corrosive forces in American politics, turning the system into something that merely enriches corporations and endangers national well-being.

Make no mistake. The backing of Doc Hastings by big oil is nothing that stands to benefit anyone but the corporations. It is truly naïve to think that the big companies have any loyalty to the country other than ensuring that they can go on without bother and can always turn a steady profit.

One of the major ways that Doc Hastings has shown a level of corruption bordering on the ludicrous is his major decision to argue against the EPA when it came to the quality of the Columbia river. That’s right. He is so anti-environment that he actually stopped a federal agency from helping citizens of the state from having their water quality improved.

Meanwhile, Doc Hastings has always shown a certain level of loving apathy toward dangerously anti-environmental measures by being permissive and inviting to harmful companies that would destroy the environment. We get that you were a paper exec, Doc. But you honestly don’t have to hate nature just because of that.

Doc Hastings says that the Endangered Species Act is costing jobs and hurting the economy. Funny, but he must have forgotten to mention of the species that this act is helping. A few of the species that this bill has helped so far are the…

• Bald eagle
• Peregrine falcon
• Humpback whale
• Gray whale
• Grizzly bear
• Whooping crane
• Kirtland’s warbler
• Southern sea otter
• Salmon species

Every single organism serves a purpose in its own ecosystem. The importance of the organisms needs to be emphasized and protected as corporations continue to grow and expand throughout the United States. The idea that these organisms can be destroyed and our environment will continue to survive needs to be done away with.

Hastings said, “this hearing is the first of many that the Natural Resources Committee will hold to examine both the strengths and weaknesses of the Endangered Species Ac. It has been over two decades since the ESA was last reauthorized and it’s the responsibility of Congress to undertake a thoughtful analysis of the law to see what improvements could be made to ensure that it works for both species and people.”

His list of witnesses is still a mystery, but he claims that the law is being used by special interest groups to “file lawsuits and drain resources away from real recovery efforts.” Hopefully those involved in the hearing will understand more about our ecosystem than this man does.

Doc Hastings has missed 11.1 percent of the votes. He is the only member from the Washington delegation to miss more than ten percent of these votes. When you elect an official to represent you, don’t you want someone that takes that responsibility seriously? If he doesn’t even care to show up to cast his vote, how is he going to represent his people.

Taking public office seriously is something that is inherent in most public official’s platform. It is important that you take the time that you need to find a public official that you know will show up to work. Being voted into a position just so you can be absent for a large portion of the votes that you are expected to cast is utterly unacceptable.

Make sure that you cast your vote for someone that actually cares about the people he represents. Be sure that you elect someone that will show you that they care enough to give your voice some credence in Washington.

It is important to see where the politician is spending his or her time. When you are learning how you are going to assess this you want to make sure that you look at the bills that the politician has sponsored, supported or even co-sponsored.

When we look at the bills that Doc Hastings has supported through sponsorship or co-sponsorship we see a very interesting trend. Funny enough, there have been twenty six bills that Doc Hastings has sponsored that have failed to be made into law.

Imagine that. A man that does not care to listen to the public also chooses to support the bills that are never made into laws. He, instead, wastes his time propagating his own agenda so that those that are filling his pocketbook are always happy.

Furthermore, the man has one of the worst attendance records in the House this year. How can he represent us if he’s not even there to take a stand on issues that affect us?

Make sure that you are taking the time that you need to vote someone into office that will get things done. Support someone that show up for time in Congress, someone you can be sure will listen to the people and help the country for the better.

The animals, in their natural environment, are eating the food that they are naturally born to prey on. This bill will give us the ability to kill more salmon, rather than allowing the sea lions to eat their prey.

Doc Hastings said, “With all other methods exhausted, lethal removal of the most aggressive sea lions is the only option left to deter predation” showing just how much he does not care about the environment.

Over and over again this man shows that he has a blatant disregard for the environment and for our stewardship over the environment. Not only has he sponsored this bill but he also thinks that oil drilling needs to be restored in the gulf as soon as possible.

Make sure that you take the time that you need to do all of the research about this man that you can before you vote. Make sure that you understand what he is really about, rather than what he says he is about. The man does not keep his word and his actions consistently show what he is really about.