BLM director burned by Burning Man in his own state

Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., said he spoke with Bureau of Land Management Director Neil Kornze Monday about the BLM's original request for more than $1 million encampment at the colossal Burning Man artsy wing-ding in the Black Rock Desert later this year.

Heller said the BLM requests – that included flush toilets, washers and dryers -- plus 24/7 access to soft ice cream "was a bit over the top."

He said Kornze feels the same way, predicting the request will be scaled down.

"I think it was a bit over the top," Heller said about the BLM's original request. "And I believe that Director Kornze believes the same thing – that it was a little bit over the top."

Heller was speaking publicly about the BLM's proposed luxuries for the first time Monday.

"They are going to augment it and come back to our delegation and let us know what it is," Heller said about the BLM's request. "Then we'll see where we go from there."

Kornze, an Elko County native, was a senior policy adviser for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., before joining the BLM. Kornze took control of the BLM last April, just days before Cliven Bundy's standoff with the BLM first became a nation news story.

Now his agency is in another pickle in Nevada, again looking bad in his home state. Nevada's 2nd U.S. House District Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Carson City, has expressed ethical concerns about the BLM's requests.

There seems to be a concern from Nevada's federal delegation not to harm the Burning Man event. In about a quarter of a century, it has evolved into a cash cow for Northern Nevada, with estimates of its economic impact starting at $44 million annually.

Reid has been a major player in advancing Kornze's career. He delivered a 71-28 confirmation vote for Kornze when he was the senate majority leader, even though Republicans balked at Kornze's age of 35 during hearings, according to the Washington Post. Reid referred to Kornze as "somebody that is just perfect for the job," after he received Senate confirmation as BLM director.

Now Reid is solidly against the BLM requests, making the BLM out as a bunch of pansies in a letter to Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell.

"Part of Burning Man's philosophy is self-reliance and living with the elements is part of the experience," Reid wrote. "Flush toilets and laundry facilities can be found about ten miles away in Gerlach, Nevada, if BLM's employees need such amenities."

_______________

Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., appears to be doing well in Nevada. However, it may turn out to be a mistake on his part for meeting with Cliven Bundy for 45 minutes during a stop in Mesquite, which was reported by Politico.

Paul was on a major campaign trip through Nevada, becoming the first major presidential candidate to visit rural Nevada stops like Elko and Mesquite.

Giving Bundy so much time on a critical campaign tour -- may in some people's minds – align Bundy with the Paul campaign. That is risky. Bundy has broken the law and has uttered blatantly racist remarks. All the state's top Republicans have steered clear of Bundy, except for firebrand Assemblywoman Michele Fiore, R-Las Vegas. He seems a divisive figure for a campaign trying to unite a GOP base under the big umbrella.

Surely there are other conservative Republican ranchers in Nevada who pay their grazing fees and would be just as deserving of Sen. Paul's time and whose opinions of federal overreach of the BLM in Nevada should be taken as seriously as Bundy's.