There’s a long list of unreasonable sorts of people that reasonable people tend to watch out for. Two of the most unpopular types of people on this list are used-car salesmen and politicians.

The trope of the dishonest used-car salesmen goes like this: They begin telling you what they think you want to buy. Then, as they learn more about what you really want to buy, they change their pitch, echoing your wants and desires. Eventually, you buy what seems like the perfect car, only to realize later the odometer has been rolled back and the transmission won’t slide into fifth gear.

Well, some politicians aren’t so different. Here’s a case in point: Recently, Congressman Zinke wrote an op-ed saying he will “never sell, give away, or transfer your public lands.” That sure sounds like what we want, and it’s a great sales pitch. The trouble is that Montanans are actually getting something completely different.

Last month, Congressman Zinke voted “yes” on H.R. 2316, which would transfer management of 4 million acres of national forest land to advisory committees controlled by state governors without oversight from the American people. The bill would allow 200,000 acres per national forest to be transferred into the hands of these committees and would also suspend laws that require multiple-use management.

Montanans are upset and they should be. What a person says, especially those we elect to represent our interests, ought to match what they do. Where public lands are concerned, Congressman Zinke has sold Montanans a lemon. —Kennden Culp, Noxon