“A thing is going to happen which has not happened since the Elder Days: the Ents are going to wake up and find that they are strong.”

- JRR Tolkien, The Two Towers

It would appear that elements of the current ruling faction of the American political system have noticed that, hold on, wait, they don’t actually have all that much in common:

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Group in town to stage protest against Robert Redford

On the eve of the Sundance Film Festival, filmmaker Robert Redford got some very bad reviews today, not from movie critics but from black ministers. They came from around the country to attack his environmental views and to stand up in favor of oil and gas drilling.

Redford’s critics chose the Broadway Theatre in downtown Salt Lake, hoping to draw a few of the cameras that would normally be covering the film festival. The ministers said they were here to speak up for the poor, but critics claim that some of the organizations involved are actually fronts for industry.

Niger Innis of the Congress of Racial Equality said, “When a family’s got to think about 50 percent of their dollar going to energy prices…”

It’s a national coalition arguing that more drilling would lower energy costs for the poor.

There’s something truly exciting about watching representatives from a reliably Democratic group point out representatives from another reliably Democratic group are advocating policies that will make life harder for everybody else. Not as much as watching that exceptionally stereotypical Glenn Bailey guy – complete with ponytail! Central Casting really came through on that one – accuse the Congress for Racial Equality of being shills for Exxon, though.

I’d like to end this up by directly addressing Mr. Innis, Rev. Henry, Rev. Jackson, Elder Malone and the rest of their colleagues: I just wanted to make sure that someone did you the courtesy of letting you know that there’s a political group out there that is all about increased drilling and decreased energy prices. Now, I understand that considering this is going to fly in the face of roughly forty years of tradition; believe me, I understand. Fourth generation American, here, and I’m the first one of my line to change his voting affiliation. So I fully agree that it’s not a insignificant change to make, or even contemplate; and there’s a lot of people who’d snicker at me for even bringing up the subject. Still, if you ever have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with one of our representatives…

Oh, Greg Hughes already made sure that all of you had his number before he left the podium? Excellent. Glad to hear it.

Crossposted at Moe Lane.