Mark Kirk: BP Should Be Responsible For Oil Spill Damages

In a press conference Tuesday morning, Mark Kirk called for British Petroleum to assume liability for all the damage caused by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

As he accepted the endorsement of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce in his heated Senate race against Democrat Alexi Giannoulias, Kirk told reporters that oil companies need better safeguards and contingency plans before they drill new exploratory offshore wells.

From the AP coverage of the event:

Kirk says he isn't concerned that liability connected to the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico could put British Petroleum out of business.

...

Kirk says a company that causes a tremendous liability should be responsible to pay for it.

Though he didn't offer specifics, this opinion would put him in line with Democratic Senators like Robert Menendez, Frank Lautenberg and Bill Nelson, who have sponsored legislation to raise oil companies' liabilities from $75 million to $10 billion in offshore spills.

Kirk has a mixed track record when it comes to offshore drilling. In 2007, he stood up to BP when it sought to dump more ammonia and toxic sludge into Lake Michigan. "I think BP now stands for bad polluter," Kirk said at the time. "They need to be called out on their corporate hypocrisy."

When it was revealed in 2009 that the company's Whiting, Indiana facility had consistently violated clean air standards by pumping toxic benzene into the air, he joined with Democrat Mike Quigley and 17 other congressmen in demanding accountability.

But Kirk has been much more indulgent when Big Oil wasn't in his backyard, as NBC Chicago writes: "During the 2008 presidential campaign, he joined his party's 'Drill Baby Drill' wing by endorsing oil exploration in the Gulf."

In fact, Kirk pushed the falsehood that China was drilling for oil off the Cuban coast to encourage American support for additional drilling in the Gulf.

The current unchecked disaster in the region, however, seems to have made him change his tune on offshore exploration -- or at least rewrite a note or two.

The Capitol Fax, a leading Illinois political blog, sums up Kirk's Tuesday announcement nicely: "It's good to see Kirk is now on board for common sense rules, which too many (including Kirk) didn't support before this horrific disaster."

Comments

[Cogs]

01:18 AM on 05/20/2010

Who could disagree with holding BP fully accountable for these damages? Except, of course, those GOP senators that Mark Kirk is so desperate to hook up with in D.C. Let's hear him take on that issue and prove that the people do indeed come first.

[mamala4]

07:53 AM on 05/20/2010

Won't happen....as much as we know it should...he panders, and panders but can't hold a position for more than 60 seconds.

[VOTER]

08:22 PM on 05/19/2010

I can't tell which side of his mouth Kirk is yammering from .............
whichever one, it is the LYING one.

VOTE FOR ALEXI!

[sushi27]

06:27 PM on 05/19/2010

OMG, here goes Kirk and his forked tongue again. I will repeat this over and over again until people realize just what a slime sucking liar he is - Kirk will say anything to "make you think he is a moderate", but, once elected he will vote "strict Republican guidelines". He has NO integrity whatsoever. Like a used car salesman or snakeoil salesman at a carnival.

Mark Kirk is NOT a moderate - he is worse than a "Tea Party" candidate - they at least tell the truth.

[mamala4]

07:55 AM on 05/19/2010

Kirk, Bush, Cheney and the repugs should also be held accountable...THEY relaxed all regulations regarding drilling in order to fill their pockets...now they have filled our waters with oil that kills while they are laughing all the way to their banks with profits in the billions.....

[jmengr]

11:57 PM on 05/18/2010

This guy is nothing but a grandstanding opportunist. He has no integrity, he just plays the angles when they suit him.

[TxAggie]

11:14 PM on 05/18/2010

Let's see- did everyone miss the Senate hearing where the exec from BP said they would pay all ligit claims and that they acknowledge responsibility? Did all you guys miss that? Perhaps we wait and see how things play out? I for one expect BP to do just exactly what they have said they will do. Are all you folks dead set on blogging, twittering and listening to the press and politicians fan things out of control? Let see what happens.

[jmengr]

11:58 PM on 05/18/2010

Well said. The unfounded piling on is out of control.

[Captain Pants]

09:07 AM on 05/19/2010

"I for one expect BP to do just exactly what they have said they will do."

Because that has worked out so great so far.

I know the world would be a better place if we just trusted the multinational corporations a little more. Why do we have to presume that they have the interest of profits over the well-being of individuals and the environment? We are really such haters!!

Shame on us. For shame! I expect everyone here to write a formal apology to BP immediately. I think we forget that corporations are legally people; therefore, they can have their feelings hurt.

[JaneaneTheAcerbicGoblin]

10:50 PM on 05/18/2010

If Kirk wins in November, he'll change his tune again and say BP are wonderful people who made a mistake and we should forgive them.

[revonitz]

08:28 PM on 05/18/2010

BP has not recently become a bad corporate citizen, they,ve always been a bad corporate citizen. Cheney's Haliburton(chairman and ceo) and BP, and many others ,have paid lots of money buying our government. They paid, The govt. has bought, let the govt. pay for the clean up. I think BP has no liability. They paid for insurance decades ago. We as Americans need to step forward and take resposibilty for our elected leaders. You and I need to pay.....

[satanlite]

09:28 PM on 05/18/2010

Sarcasm aside, I do believe certain private citizens in the Cheney and Bush household should be held personally responsible and pay. I'm sure we can find other oil barons as well. They should be called upon to forfeit the ill gotten gains they've acquired due to their positions in government.

[larry278]

07:54 PM on 05/18/2010

Faux Noise will do live, 24/7 coverage of Sen Inhoffe's trip from Washington, DC's Cat House on C St, tarred, feathered, tied to an iron rail, while covered in flames from burning balls of oil from BP's oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico since 20 April, 2010 to Burger King franchise in Enid, Ok Glenn Beck, Swill O'Really, Sarah Palin & 2 Often Seen Hans R Dirty will provide 24/7 color coverage of this event. FAUX NOISE will sell videos of this heart warming event for $3.00.

[poomplet]

08:08 PM on 05/18/2010

Just a tip...when your nurse empties your drool cup, ask her to give it a good once-over with a Clorox Wipe.

Hygiene is SOOO important!

[larry278]

07:39 PM on 05/18/2010

If Mr Kirk is elected to represent Il in the US Senate in the 112th Congress, Sen Inhoffe(sic?) will return to Ok by rail (tied to a rail, tarred & feathered). Il's new Senitor Kirk will object to teabagger/vigilantes tarring & feathering Sen I & tying him to a rail & setting fire to Sen I as he's transported from Washington, DC to Enid, Ok by a tractor & semi-trailer that's fire resistant. This cruel, vigilante action would be a cruel, unusual, illegal punishment. The Constitution forbids such acts & the Supremes agree.

[poomplet]

08:03 PM on 05/18/2010

The Clozapine isn't working, dude.

Dunno if you simply need MORE, or if you might wanna switch over to Lurasidone, which I hear has lest side effects. It's not approved yet, but the trials are working great & I'm sure you can get into a test program.

Good luck!

[Yikes11]

05:45 PM on 05/18/2010

Get this klanbagger out of here. You aren't fooling anyone Kkkirk.

[StillMadMatt]

05:31 PM on 05/18/2010

Watch the weather folks!! One good hurricane and its gonna raining back on Texas!!!!

[DavidWyld]

05:27 PM on 05/18/2010

We need to have BP held responsible - and what are "legitimate claims" and "reasonable damages" will likely take years - if not decades - to settle. Hopefully, there will be a mechanism for the fishermen and other industry devastated by this tragedy to be able to survive in the coming months.

David http://wyld-business.blogspot.com/

[CrescentCityRay]

12:23 PM on 05/19/2010

The whole region is already severely damaged by this event. There will never be adequate compensation. Very few will ever be made whole. Let the oil get into our marshes and estuaries and the damage done to our environment and to all citizens in So. LA will be unimaginable. There will be so much pain that you will feel it even in non-flyover states.

How do you compensate millions of non-human lives?

[Aldyth]

04:13 PM on 05/18/2010

It's a long time till November. Let's see if he still holds this position once the extent of the damage and costs of returning the environment to pristine condition are known.

[Captain Pants]

03:55 PM on 05/18/2010

Flippity, Floppity, Kirk is like a younger, Illinois version of McCain plus the hair and minus the played out POW story. He's willing to shift positions, adopt antithetical political personas, and assume that the voters are too stupid to Google any of his prior positions or words.

[poomplet]

04:17 PM on 05/18/2010

Gee..Kirk 'endorsed' gulf drilling last year.

Period.

WOW what a huge filp flop. It brings to mind another politician.

One who campaigned on a plank AGAINST increased offshore drilling.

One who's "the top recipient of BP PAC and individual money over the past 20 years, according to financial disclosure records." (Politico).

One who appointed Ken Salazar to Sec. of the Interior (oops...I just gave it away!!), a man who voted to end protections that limit offshore oil drilling in Florida's Gulf Coast. In 2007, Salazar was one of only a handful of Democrats to vote against a bill that would require the United States Army Corps of Engineers to consider global warming when planning water projects."

One who last year ended a longstanding moratorium on exploration from the northern tip of Delaware to the central coast of Florida, covering 167 million acres of ocean. (nyt)

One who said " It turns out, by the way, that oil rigs today generally don’t cause spills. They are technologically very advanced. Even during Katrina, the spills didn’t come from the oil rigs, they came from the refineries onshore."(Jotman)"

So who's flipping is worse? Who actually acted on & affected offshore drilling policies...and who has casually uttered 2-3 blurbs expressing support for offshore drilling?

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

[NOV42008]

05:26 PM on 05/18/2010

If Kirk votes like a dem, why not just elect a dem. Go Alexi !!

[Captain Pants]

08:56 AM on 05/19/2010

Yes, of course I am horribly disappointed in Obama for that decision and plenty of others. I am with you there. But, didn't he always say an "all of the above" approach, and though he paid environmental lip service that oil isn't the "final solution" did he ever actually "run against offshore drilling"

http://www.npr.org/blogs/politicaljunkie/2010/03/obama_gets_drilled_by_enviros.html
"It's not that candidate Barack Obama promised an end to drilling. But there was no question where environmentalists stood in the 2008 presidential campaign."

Maybe you have some more info. Doesn't sound like a flip flop to me just a shift - a sad, maddening ill- conceived shift for political purposes - but not a disingenuous flip flop.

But, Poomplet, I was talking about MARK KIRK, not Obama. If you have comparisons to make- the only relevant one is Gianoullias/