Energy without Security (clinton's Secretaries of Energy)

TownHall.com ^ | 8/20/03 | Gary Aldrich

[kattracks]

Those of us who served during the Clinton Administration were shocked by the mindless, directionless, and often times silly agenda of his Secretaries of Energy.  From a professional security man’s vantage point, an intelligence brownout at DOE seriously threatened our national security on a continual basis. During the Clinton Administration, national energy policy took a backseat to political correctness and pleasure on the job.

Clinton’s first DOE Secretary, Hazel O’Leary, was certainly no shining light for the Clinton Legacy.  One of her first moves was to question why some DOE security badges were blue, whereas others were brown. 

Security men tried to explain the difference between high-level clearances that allowed scientists’ access to top-secret facilities, versus low-level staffers or custodians whose presence represented a threat to national security.  She would have none of it.  According to my sources, Ms. O’Leary issued orders to make all building passes the same color so that some employees would not feel badly about their “lesser” status.

Another major mission for Ms. O’Leary was the declassification of Cold-War era documents revealing how the federal government used American citizens as guinea pigs in radiation experiments.  How these revelations added to the maintenance of power plants and our ability to transmit energy to major population centers is unknown.

But it did make America look bad.  Was that her intent?

Ms. O’Leary was infamous for her expensive travel schedule.   Jetting first class all over the globe, she chalked up hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of unaccounted-for expenses, spending more time out of the country than at home managing DOE. 

Some might be able to think of good reasons for the Secretary of Energy to visit Vienna three times, for example.  Perhaps Ms. O’Leary heard the Viennese had invented a new way to make energy from violins and chocolates?

At taxpayers’ expense, she leased the MGM Grand plane – good enough for rock-star Madonna.  If her bosses, Bill and Hillary Clinton minded, nobody heard of it.  One remarkable journey took O’Leary to South Africa at the cost of more than half a million dollars.  In order to enjoy the trip, she took along 63 staff members.

Some security types might opine that keeping Ms. O’Leary out of DOE headquarters was not a bad idea, except that our energy infrastructure was getting older by the day.  Others insisted that serious investments needed to be made to avoid the very kind of breakdown we’ve just suffered. 
 
 Also under Clinton’s watch, DOE computer hard drives holding the nation’s most important nuclear secrets disappeared for months until discovered stuffed behind filing cabinets.  There was no espionage, but there sure was a lot of evidence of incompetence.  The missing hard-drives may be mostly forgotten today, but many  political analysts think this major security breach on DOE Secretary Bill Richardson’s watch cost him the opportunity to be Al Gore’s running mate. 

Bill Richardson, Hazel O’Leary’s successor, didn’t accomplish much at DOE, but when he served as Ambassador to the United Nations, he spent time job-hunting for Monica Lewinsky in New York City.  Clinton evidently thought this was a good use of Richardson’s energy.

When the power went off in New York City and other major Northeastern cities, causing 50 million people to be without electricity, Bill Richardson and Hillary Clinton were quick to pounce on the Bush Administration in an unabashed attempt to lay blame. 

In doing this, Hillary Clinton and Bill Richardson gave new meaning to the word “Chutzpah”.  While her husband burnt the lights late in the Oval Office, and otherwise misused his energy, Bill Richardson defended Clinton’s chaos and antics.  Later, he opted to apply his vast energy experience in governing New Mexico, which isn’t exactly the most heavily populated or energy-dependent state in the Union.

Yet, the mainstream media rush to Richardson’s side to find out how to fix the energy “crisis”.

Even Slate Magazine, no friend of conservatives, managed to ridicule Richardson’s hapless management of DOE.  David Plotz, a reporter for Slate, revealed that Richardson had established a Guinness World Record for giving the most handshakes in a day – nearly 8,500.  How this bettered our chances for uninterrupted power remains unknown.

Plotz went on to describe Richardson as “weak on policy, often skipping complicated discussions for a cigar and a party.”  My security associates who worked in the DOE executive suites met with Richardson frequently, and can attest to his preference for entertainment over hard work. 

Nevertheless, Richardson now has the expertise and energy to jump on Bush’s Energy Department.  Hillary Clinton, who had much to do with the appointments of Clinton cabinet officials, also weighs in with her criticisms.  She and her husband had eight years to appoint real achievers to maintain a free flow of energy power – but instead, the situation got worse.

There is an old saying about throwing stones when one lives in a glass house.  Apparently, Bill Richardson and Hillary Clinton have never heard of it.  Some complain that Clinton critics like me “ought to move on,” but with such remarkable brass displayed by former Clinton Administration apologists like these, it’s very difficult. 

Clearly they want to “airbrush” history, but people like me are not going to let them do it.

Gary Aldrich is president and founder of The Patrick Henry Center for Individual Liberty, a TownHall.com member group.

©2003 Gary W. Aldrich

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[The Duke]

One need only look Bill Richardson in the face to understand fully the content of his character.