It goes to John Cornyn:
“I think it’s good that there’s going to be some money there, I don’t know whether it’s going to be enough money to pay all the claims. They should pay the legitimate claims. But the part that Representative Barton is expressing some concern about, that I share the concern, is this has really become a political issue for the President and he’s trying to deal with it by showing how tough he’s being against BP. The problem is BP’s the only one who really is in control of shutting down this well, and he’s trying to mitigate, I think, his own political problems.”
Let me ask you something. If Cornyn thinks it’s good that there is some money available for BP’s victims but he is not sure that $20 billion is enough, then why isn’t he asking for BP to cough up more money rather than worrying that the president might be mitigating some of his political problems by securing the funds?
Could Cornyn get any more nakedly cynical? He represents people on the Gulf Coast, for chrissakes. And look at this:
Yesterday, the Republican Study Committee (RSC), the policy arm of House Republicans, said: “BP’s reported willingness to go along with the White House’s new fund suggests that the Obama Administration is hard at work exerting its brand of Chicago-style shakedown politics. These actions are emblematic of a politicization of our economy that has been borne out of this Administration’s drive for greater power and control.”
That’s just as nutty as what Michele Bachmann said. The GOP wants to convince people that Obama is taking over private industry in this country in some kind of Hugo Chavezish revolution. But the truth is that if Obama declared BP’s American operations the property of the people of the Gulf Coast most people would call it leadership.
Mm. While this sounds wingnutty to anyone sane who cares about the environment, I think it may be pretty calcuated to appeal to a certain base. Consider…
So there’s a substantial number of people in these states who are more concerned about what the moratorium and increased drilling expenses will do to their states’ economy in the future. It’s a natural constituency for Republicans to appeal to at this time.
If Dems were serious about countering, they’d site new national lab for alternative energy in New Orleans or Baton Rouge, and they’d help the state attract private investment in alternative energy manufacturing. To date, I don’t see any hint of a long-term solution for Louisiana’s dependence on oil from anyone in Washington of either party.
Re:2: people who live on the coast have friends and relatives throughout the region hence many more than the individuals residing on the coast are affected. The fishing ppl are highly aware of the environmental issues and how damage to the ecosystem damages their livlihood.
I’m partly playing devil’s advocate here… I hope that people will realize how ridiculous the Barton comments are. And I think most Louisianians do value the coast and wetlands.
But arguing for the devil, I’d say that the oil industry is much more spread through the state than fishing is, and worth more money.
I can’t imagine that poor ol’ New Orleans will not feel the pain yet again. That has to cover a substantial part of the population. Biloxi too. Texas, of course, will be the usual lost cause.
It’s kind of maddening: The DOE announced that it’s looking for new and bigger wind energy projects, but nobody’s jumped on putting a massive pilot project in the Gulf. Maybe the wind isn’t right or something, but it seems like the perfect place. There are already 4000 oil rigs there, so NIMBYs won’t be complaining about spoiling the pristine view, there’s construction and engineering talent as well as labor readily available, and the battered region is ready for a massive pilot project that points the way to a hopeful future. I can’t think of a more dramatic and inspiring demonstration of the shift from fossil to renewable energy.
It’s the obvious and right thing to do and the kind of Big Plan that could let Obama be the transformative president he was supposed to be. Personally I’d like to see it happening where DOE is talking about — in the Great Lakes/East Coast regions where my bread is buttered — but I don’t see how anyone can argue against the Gulf getting top priority.
I wonder whether wind farms can be built to withstand hurricanes.
The really big windmills from GE that I have seen are built like lighthouses and csn withstand hurricanes. Alot of the smaller ones might blow apart under hurricane conditions. But they’re not hard to repair or replace.
If oil rigs can, it seems like it should just be an engineering problem to do the same for windfarms. The structure would be pretty easy, and it doesn’t seem like that hard a problem to shelter the blades in a hurricane.
Of course if they could figure a way to convert some of the hurricane energy….
The wingnuts have good reason to be scared. Once the checks start getting cut to average Joes that would normally get screwed in situations like this, the “little people” of the Gulf coastal states are likely to change their opinions of this Obama guy. He actually fought for them and got them a whole lotta cash that they desperately needed. And not a taxpayer-funded handout, either. None of them will be stuck in shitty class-action lawsuits against BP for 20 years, finally getting screwed out of what they’re really owed by their lawyers.
Obama and Democrats could become the new heroes of the south if they follow-through and get this mess cleaned up, rebuild the barrier islands and leave things in better shape than they were before the spill. That’s not good news for Republicans who count on keeping these folks divided against the socialists.
You left out one essential: if they explain clearly and persistently that they’re the ones who made it happen, contrast it to what Exxon spill victims are still going through, and make the Gulf their laboratory for state-of-the-art environmental restoration, including flood control that works. Just facts and achievements don’t get much credit on their own.
Rebuilding the natural systems that sustain the Gulf could be Obama’s humans-on-the-moon, except much more relevant to people’s lives. The window of opportunity won’t last forever, though — by the time all the “ideas” are considered and the commissions write some report this will all be yesterday’s news except for the ones directly involved. I hope like hell that Obama announces a huge restoration/research project no more than a month after the leak stops. He can fill in the details later.
Yep. Unfortunately, the oil is going to be coming ashore for months and months. Sooner is better, and there’s still lots of room for improvement in the shoreline response right now.
If he waits until after the oil quits washing ashore, any trust will be broken and it will be too late.
If people are talking about it, then we have to cover it. And if we cover it, then in the interest of “balance” we have to give an allegation such as this equally credible consideration as being potentially truthful. Because, “Hey, it’s out there” and “Some people are saying…..” and because of that, “This begs the question, is this the precursor for a takeover of BP, much like the takeover of the car companies?”
Which will inevitably lead to………..
“Today, on Meet The Press, we tackle these and other questions which are being asked around Washington and the nation regarding the latest response by the Obama administration to the spill in the Gulf. Coming up, we talk with Senator’s John McCain and Joe Lieberman about these difficult questions. And later, what Sarah Palin has to say about what is happening in the Gulf.
If the nuts know one thing, it’s how to set the narrative for an obliging and gullible media.
So the Republicans are trying to self-destruct even faster than previously thought!!
oil-bought politicians say enough stupid shit to get enough people to vote them OUT OF OFFICE.
Please, let Govn’r Perry say something horribly stupid along these lines……….
I’m continually struck by the memories of my many friends from Alaska who were basically out there on there own for nearly two decades as they fought alone against a ruthless giant corporation.
Their desperation, heartache, loss of family life as well as incomes; the ravages of the shoreline and Sound are all memories to the rest of us now, but I doubt those in Alaska will ever feel whole again.
So this time, the stark contrast of watching an Admin that is taking up the cause of the ‘little’ people is welcomed. And I am reminded that it takes govt intervention when it comes to representing the people against the giants. My friends never had a chance.
And I am sorry for the shareholders in BP. They didn’t necessarily do anything wrong either. Some simply entrusted their retirement monies in what seemed like a sure thing. They also have been cheated.