From the Right Corner: A conversation with Rod Van Mechelen, Cowlitz Tribal member and outspoken proponent for the Cowlitz-Mohegan Mega-casino.

This is my response to Rod Van Mechelen, Cowlitz Member and frequent letter writer to various area newspapers, where he sings the many praises of the Cowlitz-Mohegan effort to jam a casino down our collective throat.

He is responding to my entry here: http://clarkcountypolitics.blogspot.com/2005/04/dont-you-just-love-it.html

Who...me is right, I don't "fit the profile of an impoverished Cowlitz Tribe member," either. I'm a Russel Kirk Conservative, I think George W. Bush will go down in history as one of our greatest presidents, and I believe that once we get past the controversy over the La Center project, most folks throughout Cowlitz Country will look back on these days and wonder what all the fuss was about. Because we will prove that we are good neighbors.

Sigh... Thanks for helping to prove my point.

That may very well be, except, of course, La Center and the planned Mega-Casino aren’t IN Cowlitz County… they’re in CLARK County… which serves to illustrate one of the biggest problems:

Those who don’t live here… and, except for standing to financially benefit from this, will not have to deal with ANY of the effects of this development, telling those of us who DO live here what to do. And YOU DO NOT LIVE HERE. How EASY it is for you to tell those of us who DO live here what is best for us. How DARE you?

YOU will not have to deal with the increased crime rate… we will. YOU will not have to deal with the loss of revenue to the county and the cities directly impacted by this development… we will. YOU do not stand to see YOUR business go under because of this economic leviathan… WE do. YOU will not suffer increased taxes because the Casino is sucking up our social, police and school services…. WE will.

Rod, there is one, absolutely undeniable fact: if you and your Tribe wanted to be “good neighbors,” then you would not be attempting to gain the LEAST restrictive designation for the land the Tribe wants.

If you and the Tribe WANTED to be good neighbors, then you and the Tribe would be demanding that the land in question fall under Section 20 of the IGRA. THAT’S what a “good neighbor” would do. Section 20 would require consideration of the ALL of the impacts of the mega-casino development BEFORE permission was granted to build it. But NOOOOooo….. you people want an “initial reservation.”

But then, the least restrictive option does nothing of the kind. You knew that, right, Rod?

So for me, the Tribe has not been a “good neighbor.”

Are you aware of the threats David Barnett has issued? Are you aware that he has referred to those who oppose this Mega-Casino as “racists?”

Sorry, Rod… good neighbors don’t lie like Phil did at the Roundtable on Saturday, when he claimed that the Cowlitz had voluntarily decided, on their own, to get a full Environmental Impact Statement. When he said that, he blatantly lied, in front of God and the CVTV cameras…. And the NEPA representative from the BIA that was in attendance confirmed it when she said that she was “sorry,” but that she, personally had prepared the letter from Mr. Spears requesting that the Tribe do the EIS.

Good neighbors do not threaten to get their way, Rod. And good neighbors do not lie.

The Tribe has done both for months, and as recently as Saturday, at least attempted to engage in falsehood.

Now, several months ago when Mike Siegel expressed the opinion that I was neither a conservative nor a Republican, I instantly provided him with objective evidence to back up my claim. Although there's no website with the letters and articles I wrote in 1979 and 1980 in support of Ronald Reagan, and my letters and articles in support of Skip Barron and the King County Libertarian Party also pre-dated the Internet by a good 10 years, my main website does act as an archive for mahy articles I've written over the years, including one that our detractors should appreciate:

The issue has nothing to do with whether you qualify as a “conservative” or not. I could care less.

The issue is that your Tribe has and is attempting to bully its way into changing the shape of MY HOME forever… effects on the people and businesses of the area be damned.

The issue is that you fire off your letters to the editor from Bellevue or Olympia or wherever the hell it is that you live, telling US how to live… what we should think… and what we should believe.

The History of White Guys in America - http://www.backlash.com/content/gender/1996/4-apr96/rod04.html

Now, for some reason, Who...Me seems to suggest that, because I'm a writer have a moderately popular website, then I must be financially in very good shape. My regular readers would laugh at that. Though hosting for my websites is very reasonable, the $20 or so a quarter I get from Amazon sales doesn't cover the cost.

So, I'm not sure what point Who...Me is trying to make, but I think they have yet to make their case.

Regards, Rod

Do you get the point of it now, Rod?

The FACT of the matter is this: there is NO damage… NO negative consequence to the people, businesses or economy of this area that would make you or any other tribal member think this is a bad idea.

Because at the end of the day, you just don’t give a damn… and neither does David Barnett or the rest of the Tribe. You want what you want, and to hell with US.

Sorry, Rod… that don’t cut it. It doesn’t cut it for US, any more than it would cut it for YOU if the roles were reversed.

I look forward to your response and your reaction to the Tribe’s efforts to bludgeon their way into OUR home… a home that the Cowlitz had never known and wouldn’t give a damn about NOW if it weren’t on a freeway exit.

Thank you for taking the time to respond.