Rep. Ken Ivory spoke in Colorado last month touting his efforts to wrest control of public lands away from the federal government. Some of those in attendance were not impressed.
The Aspen Daily News Online reports that Pitkin County Commissioner Rachel Richards says Ivory's quest is nothing new.
“They’ve been pushing this item for a long time. …Making the land pay for itself is a lot of snake oil and pie in the sky with a very slick preacher delivering it like it’s gospel.”
“It’s based on the assumption that the government will give up all of its royalties on mineral rights,” she said. “It’s gone to court before and been thoroughly beaten.”
Open space board member Hawk Greenway was a little more blunt, calling Ivory a "snake oil salesman."
“It’s one of those goofy, far-right, tea-party, Sagebrush Rebellion type of things,” Greenway said at Thursday’s open space meeting. “There were 150 people there who were enthusiastic at, what I can only characterize as … a snake-oil salesman. He was talking about how everything would be the same, only better, if the federal lands were owned by the public.”
