Posted on: Saturday, August 4, 2001

Inouye, Akaka must oppose Alaska drilling

Now that the House has approved President Bush's plan to open what's left of Alaska's coastal plain to oil drilling, we must hope that Sens. Dan Akaka and Dan Inouye think a little beyond the inside Senate politics that led them to support it in the past.

So far, Inouye has deferred to his good friend and Republican counterpart on the Appropriations defense subcommittee, Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, on Alaska issues while Stevens helps Inouye direct defense dollars to Hawai'i.

It's been a beneficial arrangement, but we hope Inouye and Akaka — who says he is undecided — will see that the irreversible sacrifice of a pristine wilderness area transcends porkbarrel politics.