Op-Ed

Ted, call off the dogs

Dear Sen. Kennedy,

Gee, you looked pretty good over at Harvard yesterday. And don't think for a second we aren't thanking God for that. Since your illness became public, all but the most virulent Kennedy haters have made note of your unparalelled focus on delivering the bacon for us here in Massachusetts, and lamented the consequences of any diminiution of that clout. Please accept our profound thanks - for the work you did in getting the feds to extend our health-care waiver, and for the work you're doing to protect our crucial federal funding on a variety of fronts. You are the man.

But now, we need you to do something more for us, something that may well be more difficult for you than any of the aforementioned earth moving.

Whatever the reason for your silence, it's time for you to break it - and come down in favor of letting the wind farm proceed

We need you to call off the dogs on the Nantucket Sound wind farm.

You haven't said much publicly about the so-called Cape Wind project since your 2006 effort to torpedo the project through backroom maneuvering was sniffed out and stopped. Perhaps the sheer embarassment of contradicting your own rhetoric on the need for alternative energy resources and alienating scores of longtime allies in the labor and environmental movements finally overwhelmed your NIMBYism. We'd like to think that you have finally been persuaded that the crucial imperatives potentially served by Cape Wind - the need for alternative energy and relief from soaring fuel costs for your economically-stressed constituents - outweigh your personal affection for the "pristine" vistas of Nantucket Sound.

Whatever the reason for your silence, it's time for you to break it - and come down in favor of letting the wind farm proceed. The Globe reports that the final environmental approval of the project could come down any day now. If so, the only remaining obstacle to this badly-needed source of clean, renewable energy would be endless legal harassment by the coalition of big oil money and NIMBYite landowners who've been trying to kill the project every step of the way. (Actually, there's another potential problem - the possibility that the draconian, costly delays combined with the current financial crisis might have crippled the capacity of Cape Wind investors to go forward.)

All along, you have implausibly (given your occasional lapses into NIMBYite rhetoric about the alleged spoilage of the sound) maintained that your only interest was in establishing a proper process for review of large offshore wind farms in public waters. Well, the final federal OK caps a grueling local, state and federal permitting process of unprecedented rigor dating back years. The developers have made many promises along the way; these must all be kept, and the project's construction and performance must be carefully policed to ensure that environmental and economic pledges are fulfilled. But there is no credible claim to be made that further delay is necessary.

Ted, it's time to do again what you've done so regularly and admirably for all of us over the years - set personal issues aside and do the right thing for the people who rely on you

Senator, I know you've been stung by the backlash against your resistance to the wind farm. Perhaps you still harbor the sentiments that led you to oppose it. But the working-class people of Massachusetts - the constituents you've always championed - need the economic and environmental relief this project could bring, not to mention the boost it would give our state in international recognition of a role you, our governor, and our president-elect all say they want for us, and for the US - cutting-edge leadership in the deployment of alternative energy infrastructure.

Ted, it's time to do again what you've done so regularly and admirably for all of us over the years - set personal issues aside and do the right thing for the people who rely on you, above all others, to correctly identify what the right thing is. Tell the NIMBYites the fight is over. Give Cape Wind your blessing. It would be the best Christmas gift your beloved state could receive.

Sincerely,

Jon Keller

Jon Keller, WBZ-TV's political analyst has a knack for having an opinion. He is widely regarded as the top political analyst in New England and a favorite of the region's viewers because he is smart and witty, and he asks the tough questions everyone wants to have asked.  The politicians respect him too because he has a distinguished reputation for being fair, accurate, and dedicated to serving viewers. Read his blog Keller @ Large.