I Agree With Bob Schaffer

... and no, this should not be considered an endorsement, Chairman Mary.

Bob Schaffer finally said something intelligent yesterday. As reported in the Grand Junction Sentinel, Schaffer said that it would be "over (his) cold, dead, political carcass" that John McCain would be able to re-open the Colorado River Compact.

The Compact basically is an agreement among all states depending on the Colorado River for their water. Think Nevada and the lake in front of the Bellagio: Colorado River. Plush Arizona golf courses: Colorado River. Los Angeles drinking water: Colorado River. The compact dictates what each state has a legal right to consume, and Colorado basically is in the position of ensuring that each state downstream gets whatever it needs, regardless of whether there is a drought or not. Opening the Compact to Federal oversight would put these decisions in the hands of a body in which Colorado has negligible power (California and Arizona together could ensure that Colorado interests lose 61-7 in the house).

But John McCain yesterday opened a speech with the phrase "I've come for your water."

They say that people often vote against their self-interest, but this is insane. If you live in Greeley, Firestone, Dacono, Windsor, Ault, or any other city in Weld County, you depend on Colorado River water for your existence. If you live in a municipality joining Northern Water in the quest for NISP, the had better think hard about a vote for John McCain, because he wants that water, too.

If you're a rural Weld County resident, you had better think about the farmers who had their wells turned off in 2006. If John McCain has his way, he's going to pull more water out of the South Platte (by way of the Colorado-Big-Thompson tunnel) to water golf courses in the desert and to support unrestrained development in a place that cannot sustain life without Colorado's water. Your source of water might be next.

Taxes, the role of government, and general philosophical principles are open for debate, but Mark Twain was right, "Water is for fighting." It's time to fight John McCain.