By TENNILLE TRACY and RYAN TRACY of the Wall Street Journal
Cattle Baron, Ken Salazar, may be Ousted from Lead Position at Dept. of Interior
WASHINGTON — Energy-industry officials and environmental groups are watching for change at the top in President Barack Obama’s second term, with Environmental Protection Agency chief Lisa Jackson, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Energy Secretary Steven Chu seen as possible candidates to step down.
Any new faces could have a big impact on some of the most important issues affecting the US economy, including the rapid growth of oil and gas production backed by new drilling technologies and the decline of coal.
Mr. Salazar’s spokesman said the secretary remains “focused on the job.” The White House declined to comment on who might leave the Cabinet or when, and representatives of the EPA and the Energy Department didn’t return messages seeking comment.
Washington lobbyists and Capitol Hill staff are already circulating lists of possible candidates for the posts. The EPA job is particularly critical, whether Ms. Jackson holds it, because the agency must make decisions about regulating greenhouse gases in the coming year that could effectively block new coal-fired power plants.
Presidents typically shuffle their cabinets going into a second term. The grueling workload and relatively low government salaries often prompt some leaders to step aside.
While there is no particular impetus for Ms. Jackson or Messrs. Salazar and Chu to leave right away, all three have shouldered considerable criticism from corporate executives, industry lobbyists and Republicans on Capitol Hill.
Mr. Salazar, a former US senator from Colorado, was widely criticized for issuing a temporary drilling ban after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Mr. Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning scientist, absorbed flak for supporting loan guarantees for bankrupt solar-panel maker Solyndra.
Perhaps the most popular target for Republicans is Ms. Jackson. A former New Jersey environmental official, Ms. Jackson has been accused by Republicans of expanding her agency’s authority and tackling climate change despite disagreement on the issue on Capitol Hill.
“Some people just get worn out,” said Jeff Holmstead, a former EPA official and a partner at Bracewell & Giuliani. “There are a number of perks that come with the job, but it is a lot of hard work.”
Mr. Obama’s allies in the environmental community were pleased with the selections of Mr. Chu and Ms. Jackson after his election in 2008. If they step down, the president’s picks for successors could be an indication of whether he wishes to lean more in the direction of industry or environmental groups interested in global warming.
In a second term, “President Obama has an historic opportunity to establish a legacy as the person who saved the planet from climate change,” said Daniel J. Weiss, director of climate strategy at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank.
The timing of any future departures is unclear. The White House is likely to consider is the pace at which other cabinet members leave, careful not to allow a mass exodus within the first months of a second term.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has already said he plans to leave his post, although he says he will remain until a successor is confirmed.
It could also be difficult for Mr. Obama to steer new candidates through the Senate’s confirmation process. Hearings on a new EPA chief could evolve into a referendum on climate change, a polarizing topic among members of Congress.
Meanwhile, some of the earliest departures within EPA or the Interior and Energy Departments could come from second-tier political appointees or staff.
Click (HERE) to visit the WSJ and to COmment
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Categories: Horse News, Horse Slaughter, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Too bad Reagan’s Undersecretary of the Treasury Paul Craig Roberts didn’t name his “dream” DOI and Energy chiefs in his list below; he does pick an EPA head, though (and he names Willie Nelson to an important post):
http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2012/11/09/what-paul-craig-roberts-administration-would-look-like
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YaY! WhEE! Dancin’ around! 😀 (let’s face it; other than a “Cattoor”, $laughter $ue, or “Kill’em Callie” – WH0 could Be a “Cr00Keder choice” than Sale-A-CZAR ???) & they Surely “ain’t near Smart” enough. … {back to YaY! For now at least…}
Kinda reminds me of the 2 dudes running for WV AGriculture comm. – 1 is a “BonaFide” vegetable farmer, cattleman, with a surVeyors license. While other 1 “claims he’s a Farmer” by way of *bottling spring Water* 4 S$ale ! (guess who Lost?)
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Thus far, media is only paying attention to Sec’s of State, Defense and Treasury potentials.
Media and the public don’t understand how important Interior is.
Lord, pleeze make Slaughterczar GO AWAY and send in Raul!!!!! Please hear the prayers….you too Mr President!
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Start making calls to the President asking for Salazar to step down and be replaced with Raul.
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I’m hoping with all my might Kenny goes away and Raul fills the large void left. Time to right so many wrongs.
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While we’re having a happy dance, let’s also do what we can to be sure that the next person is not worse to the environment and the horses. When i was a kid. I wondered why the head of DOI is always some jerk who destroys the environment. Now I believe it is by design, under every administration- they are purposely chosen to uphold energy, mining and cattle interests. I remember Grijalva’s name being put out originally as a possibility for Sec of Int. Wouldn’t he have been awesome?? Look back at past SOI and see if there is one that actually did much for the environment. Or am I mistaken?
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Wouldn’t it be true to form if Salazar left and became a lobbyist for the horse slaughter thugs?
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That wouldn’t surprise me at all. Look at Conrad Burns!
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And Charlie Stenholm
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I’m doing a happy dance too. Salazar needs to retire, be with his family and kept away from doing further damage. Our equines have suffered enough.
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Pray, Pray, SalaCzar gets the booooot ^^^. Replaced by Grijalva who it appeared was going to be Sec. of Interior in Obama’s 1st term. However, WORST CHOICE SALAZAR got the cabinet position. Wonder why? Me thinks some debt-thank you-payback sorta stuff. OK, new Sec. of Interior w/integrity, honesty, FOR the wild ones>>>>shakes up the BLM Advisory Board. More booting…heads roll. Oh ya! 🙂
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Would be nice..
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For now we need to make noise and wave protest signs and write and call our lists and not allow the wild ones to be overlooked as new plans and ideas are circulating in DC!
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Instead of writing suggestions here, write them here:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments
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If Salazar is ousted and replaced by someone who cares then I’ll know that there is a God! Perhaps the ramping up of the mustang roundups was an indication that Salazar knew the writing was on the wall! Let’s just hope that his replacement will undo all the damage that this a..hole has done to our American symbol of freedom. Maybe there is a God that cares about these animals..
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Terri, I have thought so too. RANCHER Salazar has gone on a unbelievable rampage against the wild horses/burros, wolves… He must have thought time was running out, so round-up, brutalize, send to slaughter as many wild horses as he can, as the clock is ticking. The same with wolves across @ (((( 9 )))) states…where torture is the norm before the kill. A majority of ranchers hate the wild horses, call them feral, and the wolves, vermin. Salazar is looking for power in ranching states and his Colorado. His power in DC is growing dim, from all sides.
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They aren’t getting rid of the horses for oil. They just announced that they were closing 1.6 million acres to oil development.
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This is not going to happen. The President’s green energy vision includes the elimination of livestock and that includes horses. Maybe Ken Salazar thinks he has a deal going on, but this is not happening.
Secretary Salazar and Senator Reid have helped some of the corporations that contribute heavily to the Obama campaign purchase valuable land. In addition same said corporations contributed heavily to both Salazar and Reid’s campaigns for Senate and they are also contribution to the Democratic members in Congress most interested in the environment as land monopoly for the US Government. Follow the money.
I will not consider it a blow to my ego if I am wrong. In fact, it would life the heavy lead out of my heart right now—so I am pulling the same way you are. It is just that the evidence is compelling.
However, if a big enough scandal emerges, I suppose it is possible. However, I would expect that Ken Salazar will be allowed to remain in his position for at least three more years. By that time all our wild horses will have been removed from public lands, slaughtered, and consumed in Kazakhstan…but I would love to be wrong.
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