The National: Seeing is believing

President Obama rode into office on an inspiring wave of “change we can believe in.” As he stated often in his campaign, he intended to change the way Washington operated. We have now come to a point where we can begin to rely upon another motto: “Seeing is believing.”

As the old cliché asserts, some things never change. In the world of politics, this can be sadly true.

Last week President Obama nominated Islam Siddiqui as chief agricultural trade negotiator. Siddiqui’s confirmation hearing is set for next week.

What’s the big deal? The short answer is that this nomination represents the fact that the White House, in its fervor for change, forgot to check the revolving door between the corporate realm and the government agencies meant to oversee them. Siddiqui has held positions in the private sector that some may find concerning given his new government occupation—a trend that was very popular during the reign of George W. Bush.

Currently, Siddiqui is the vice president for science and regulatory affairs at CropLife America, an association that “represents the developers, manufacturers, formulators and distributors of plant science solutions for agriculture and pest-management in the United States,” according to their Web site. The use and promotion of chemicals in the agricultural business seems to be the cornerstone of their purpose.

Among CropLife’s 60-plus members is my favorite corporate enemy and foe of the family farmer, Monsanto. They have made a few headlines with their practice of suing small farmers who accidentally get their pesticide-resistant crop blown onto their farmland, or of forcing farmers into dependence upon their company by contractually forbidding them to save their seed, something farmers have been doing since the invention of agriculture.

With a history of representing a rather significant body in the agricultural industry, some—including the Center for Food Safety and the National Family Farm Coalition—are concerned that Siddiqui may lean too far in favor of large chemical and bio-tech companies, especially amid a growing public debate over the use of pesticides and genetically modified crops. Siddiqui’s position to influence the agricultural industry as chief agricultural trade negotiator is alarming.

As reported in an article for Reuters, Siddiqui also has a number of positive references including Mark Maslyn, executive director for public policy with the American Farm Bureau Federation, who was quoted contending that Siddiqui would never be a “shill for industry.”

Whether or not Siddiqui is fit for his position may be another debate all together. However, Obama’s revolutionary presidency could be disputed if his power of revolution cannot penetrate the political practice of placing controversial and suspect figures in governmental positions. It’s the kind of bad political habit that could use some change.

It’s also something Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush, came under fire for yet loved to do. During the Bush Administration, J. Steven Griles was appointed as the United States deputy secretary of the interior and was placed on Vice President Cheney’s energy task force after years of serving as a coal industry lobbyist.

Or, we could also look to the example of Philip Cooney, a lobbyist for the American Petroleum Institute, who Bush placed as chief of staff of the Council of Environmental Quality. You know, the guy who tampered with scientific reports regarding climate change to better reflect the administration’s and the oil industry’s views?

President Obama should take note: just because he isn’t Bush, doesn’t mean people aren’t paying attention. It also doesn’t mean that Americans can rest easy, as if their civic duty ended with their presidential vote. Half of the job is keeping your politicians in line.