How does a Trump presidency affect Moffat County?

That’s a great question as we head into four more years of “America First” policies which are already having ripple effects in and out of our state. Say what you want about President Trump and his approach to how our country is viewed by the rest of the world, but it is pretty clear that this administration will be flexing America’s power and influence way more than what we saw over the past four years. 

Many voters got really tired of our government telling us that certain things couldn’t be helped like catastrophically slow responses to floods, hurricanes and fires because politicians need to have the wheels greased in the form of efficiency-robbing regulations and protocols that handcuffed common sense. Surely in the land of the free, people should be able to help those who are in need without the crushing oversight of federal and state officials who are in the business of saying no as the default position until regulations and rules are followed — to the letter of the law!.

People understand the inherent difference between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. Sometimes a rule is put in place to protect people but more often because it helps someone in power have undue influence or, have to be dealt with (maybe a favor, or a promise, or some leverage), before action can be taken. This was one of the things that Trump understood as a non-politician and people all over the country, especially in California, are starting to realize. 

Moffat County has been the victim of policies enacted by a state and federal government behemoth that knew they could virtue — signal by scuttling coal mines and a power plant to attain impossible net-zero environmental policies that are inherently anti-human. The sad joke is that companies could buy energy credits to make themselves look good while using reliable fossil fuel energy to maintain power stability. It was a game played really well by politicians and businesses who make themselves wealthy while our county’s economic future is destined to be on life-support. Becoming a recreational “hot-spot” or a bedroom community won’t solve our long-term issues and will only make us more dependent on hand-outs from politicians and businesses. 

Top-down bureaucratic regulations and unrealistic environmental policies have transformed Moffat County from a roaring lion of fossil fuel energy into a whimpering and wounded lamb hoping not to offend Governor Polis and his ilk while he and some of the power companies fill up our land with acres of solar panels while offering us a pittance of the profits these companies will make each year. Reliable and on-demand energy that we are going to need to power our future won’t come from panels and windmills and our government and power companies know it. 

So, what will an “America First” government look like for us right here in the Elk Hunting Capital of the World? Let’s hope that common sense percolates into the minds of the people who are elected to serve America first and the rest of the world second. Too often our good will as Americans ends up being used by politicians to make us feel guilty about an energy-dependent lifestyle we have worked hard to achieve and that somehow our country owes an environmental debt to the world while places like China and India could care less about our virtuous strive toward “green” energy. 

The best, and most realistic way to get people thinking about more than a few years into the future is to unleash the power of energy to make more people economically stable. Take a look at what has happened to energy costs in Denmark and the crisis of reliable energy in Germany as a result of political fear-mongering about climate. Drastic changes to restrictive CO2 emission standards and economy-crushing climate change policies are our best hope for the future prosperity of Moffat County which is rich in energy wealth but has borne the brunt of misguided governmental regulations “designed” to protect our vast and beautiful open spaces (but slathering solar panels all over the county is okay and looks great?). 

I’m hopeful that a return to common sense in Washington will have a profoundly positive impact on our part of Colorado and some of our politicians in Denver. Only time will tell. 

Lance Scranton is a career educator and has made his home in Moffat County for the past 26 years. He offers his views and opinions as part of the ongoing conversation about our community, country and world. Reach him at lance@columnist.com