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Horse Sense: Criticism of fire crew could be especially costly for Burns
By Charles S. Johnson
Published on Sunday, July 30, 2006.
HELENA - Time will tell just how badly U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns has hurt himself politically with his latest outbreak of foot-in-mouth disease.
The Republican senator, who faces a tough re-election challenge from Democrat Jon Tester, can't afford many more mistakes if he wants to win his fourth Senate term. The two men are locked in a tight race, with some polls showing Tester leading, while others rate the race about even. The one constant in all polls is Burns' plummeting job-approval marks.
A week ago in the Billings airport, Burns chewed out some members of an elite U.S. Forest Service firefighting team that battled an area fire and were waiting to fly home to Virginia. Burns approached them and told them they had done "a poor job" fighting the Bundy Railroad fire. He said they should have listened to the concerns of area ranchers.
Burns wasn't done teeing off. After Forest Service officials quickly summoned a state employee to come to the airport to talk to the senator, Burns pointed across the room and let them have it again, although the crew was out of earshot.
"See that guy over there," Burns is quoted in an incident report written by the state official. "He hasn't done a God damned thing. They sit around. I saw it on the Wedge fire and in northwestern Montana. It's wasteful. You probably paid that guy $10,000 to sit around. It's gotta change."
The senator wasn't attacking the work habits of some slothful firefighters assembled slapdash for the occasion. He was berating the same Augusta Hot Shots group that was dispatched to New York City after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
If Burns had problems with the firefighting tactics involved, he should have taken it up the Forest Service chain of command. The grievances of the local ranchers do deserve to be heard.
It's unfathomable that he chewed out the firefighters making $8 to $12 an hour, plus overtime, who follow their bosses' orders.
Burns previously has made racist and disparaging remarks about African-Americans, American Indians, working women and Arabs. Each time, many Montanans collectively shrug and dismiss his comments with a groan, saying, "Well, that's just Conrad."
His embarrassing comments detract from much of the good work Burns has done in Congress and the $2 billion in federal money he has brought back to Montana.
Burns has not always apologized for these past comments. Yet he wasted little time issuing an apology for his latest misstep.
"My criticism of the way in which the fire was handled should not have been directed at those who were working hard to put it out," Burns said. "Without a doubt, firefighters do the hard, tough job of battling one of Mother Nature's toughest beasts. I have nothing but admiration for them and the work they do."
Undoubtedly, Burns and his handlers realized that most Montanans regard firefighters as heroes, right up there with members of law enforcement and the armed forces. They lay their lives on the line every day to protect the rest of us.
Are they perfect? No. Do they make mistakes? Sometimes. Are there bad apples? Once in a while. But vast majority of them do their job well.
Polls verify the esteem in which Americans hold firefighters.
A September 2005 Harris Poll asked Americans to rate the prestige of 22 professions and occupations. It found that "firemen" and scientists tied for first, with 56 percent of respondents saying those occupations had "great prestige." Trailing closely were doctors, nurses, military officers, teachers and police officers. Far down on list were members of Congress at 26 percent. Journalists fared even worse, at 14 percent.
A 2004 poll of Americans by Decisionquest found "most firefighters" and "most members of your family" ranked at the top of the trustworthiness grade scale, with A-minus ratings. Most members of Congress received grades of C, the same as most newspaper and television reporters.
Ann Etheridge is a retired 35-year Forest Service veteran from Florida who was the freelance finance chief on the fire. She watched Burns confront the Hot Shots at the airport and couldn't believe it.
"These are guys who've been on the job for two weeks," she said. "They average 14-16 hours a day."
She recalled when crews from around the country came to Florida in 1998 to help put out fires.
"Our senators would have got on their knees and thanked them for helping them out," Etheridge said. "We had to have outside resources. All you saw was, 'Thank you, firefighters.' That's the way it should have been here. He should have gone over and thanked them. Regular citizens do."
By Charles S. Johnson
Published on Sunday, July 30, 2006.
HELENA - Time will tell just how badly U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns has hurt himself politically with his latest outbreak of foot-in-mouth disease.
The Republican senator, who faces a tough re-election challenge from Democrat Jon Tester, can't afford many more mistakes if he wants to win his fourth Senate term. The two men are locked in a tight race, with some polls showing Tester leading, while others rate the race about even. The one constant in all polls is Burns' plummeting job-approval marks.
A week ago in the Billings airport, Burns chewed out some members of an elite U.S. Forest Service firefighting team that battled an area fire and were waiting to fly home to Virginia. Burns approached them and told them they had done "a poor job" fighting the Bundy Railroad fire. He said they should have listened to the concerns of area ranchers.
Burns wasn't done teeing off. After Forest Service officials quickly summoned a state employee to come to the airport to talk to the senator, Burns pointed across the room and let them have it again, although the crew was out of earshot.
"See that guy over there," Burns is quoted in an incident report written by the state official. "He hasn't done a God damned thing. They sit around. I saw it on the Wedge fire and in northwestern Montana. It's wasteful. You probably paid that guy $10,000 to sit around. It's gotta change."
The senator wasn't attacking the work habits of some slothful firefighters assembled slapdash for the occasion. He was berating the same Augusta Hot Shots group that was dispatched to New York City after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
If Burns had problems with the firefighting tactics involved, he should have taken it up the Forest Service chain of command. The grievances of the local ranchers do deserve to be heard.
It's unfathomable that he chewed out the firefighters making $8 to $12 an hour, plus overtime, who follow their bosses' orders.
Burns previously has made racist and disparaging remarks about African-Americans, American Indians, working women and Arabs. Each time, many Montanans collectively shrug and dismiss his comments with a groan, saying, "Well, that's just Conrad."
His embarrassing comments detract from much of the good work Burns has done in Congress and the $2 billion in federal money he has brought back to Montana.
Burns has not always apologized for these past comments. Yet he wasted little time issuing an apology for his latest misstep.
"My criticism of the way in which the fire was handled should not have been directed at those who were working hard to put it out," Burns said. "Without a doubt, firefighters do the hard, tough job of battling one of Mother Nature's toughest beasts. I have nothing but admiration for them and the work they do."
Undoubtedly, Burns and his handlers realized that most Montanans regard firefighters as heroes, right up there with members of law enforcement and the armed forces. They lay their lives on the line every day to protect the rest of us.
Are they perfect? No. Do they make mistakes? Sometimes. Are there bad apples? Once in a while. But vast majority of them do their job well.
Polls verify the esteem in which Americans hold firefighters.
A September 2005 Harris Poll asked Americans to rate the prestige of 22 professions and occupations. It found that "firemen" and scientists tied for first, with 56 percent of respondents saying those occupations had "great prestige." Trailing closely were doctors, nurses, military officers, teachers and police officers. Far down on list were members of Congress at 26 percent. Journalists fared even worse, at 14 percent.
A 2004 poll of Americans by Decisionquest found "most firefighters" and "most members of your family" ranked at the top of the trustworthiness grade scale, with A-minus ratings. Most members of Congress received grades of C, the same as most newspaper and television reporters.
Ann Etheridge is a retired 35-year Forest Service veteran from Florida who was the freelance finance chief on the fire. She watched Burns confront the Hot Shots at the airport and couldn't believe it.
"These are guys who've been on the job for two weeks," she said. "They average 14-16 hours a day."
She recalled when crews from around the country came to Florida in 1998 to help put out fires.
"Our senators would have got on their knees and thanked them for helping them out," Etheridge said. "We had to have outside resources. All you saw was, 'Thank you, firefighters.' That's the way it should have been here. He should have gone over and thanked them. Regular citizens do."