Trump threat leads to California farmers getting more water

Sacramento Bee:
California’s politicians and pundits – including this one – have been busily speculating on what effect a Donald Trump presidency could have on a state that rejected him overwhelmingly.

Well, we saw the first major impact last week, without Trump even lifting a finger.

A compromise bill that, in effect, reallocates federally controlled water in California – much to the delight of farmers and the dismay of environmentalists – won final congressional approval Friday.

Hammered out by Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Bakersfield’s Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader of the House, it broke a half-decade-long political logjam over the issue, and there is little doubt that uncertainty over Trump’s attitude was its driving force.

Feinstein obviously decided that a compromise now would be better than taking a chance on what the Republicans who control both houses of Congress and Trump might do on water once he was inaugurated.

“I believe these provisions are both necessary and will help our state,” Feinstein said.

California’s other senator, Barbara Boxer, denounced the Feinstein-McCarthy deal in her last major senatorial utterance before retiring.

“I think it is absolutely a horrible process, a horrible rider,” Boxer said during Friday’s debate. “It’s going to result in pain and suffering among our fishing families.”

The omnibus water bill, whose major provisions go way beyond California, would provide more water to San Joaquin farmers – and less to fish habitat in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta – and ease dam construction while providing funds for desalination and recycling projects.
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Putting humans ahead of baitfish is just too logical for Boxer and the Big Green lobby in California.  Farmers are much more important to the California economy and to the US economy than the delta smelt.  The controversy just demonstrates how out of touch liberals are from reality when they have more empathy for a baitfish than for people.  Trump appears to be shaking loose the barnacles that have slowed in the inland economy in California.

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