If you want to know what U.S. energy policy would look like if Republicans take the House in November, see Rep. Joe Barton, who is the ranking GOP member on the Energy and Commerce Committee. Since 1990, he has received more than $1.9 million from the oil and gas industry. Barton is also a reminder of what President Obama and the administration inherited. However, that hardly gets Obama or Interior Sect. Ken Salazar off the hook, because BP's Deepwater Horizon well was given a green light on their watch.
Even before the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the use of environmental waivers was a source of concern. In September 2009, the Government Accountability Office released a report concluding that the waivers were being illegally granted to onshore drilling projects. - New York Times
As for Mr. Barton's apology about his apology to BP, it wasn't exactly heartfelt -- very clear it was Republican political damage control in an election year. Because it's not like he wasn't expressing a common view of Republicans. Listen to right-wing radio and the Tea Party activists; read wing-nut blogs by people like Michelle Malkin and many others who believe that our natural resources are there for us to use at will, with the corporations like BP who do the dirty work, simply heroes of ingenuity.
The short take on Republican energy policy is sour and simple: let the birds die.
But before Democrats get too comfy in their environmental superiority, one needs to understand that Pres Obama's "drill, baby, drill" policy isn't any different from Bush-Cheney. In fact, even though Obama knew of the mess at the MMS, which was perpetrated under Pres. Bush and his Haliburton-tied friend, Dick Cheney, Interior Sect. Ken Salazar didn't do anything about it when he came in. Almost 18-months into the Obama administration we're finding that the Obama administration simply doesn't know how to manage this crisis.
The other problem with the Obama administration is that they're treating the press just like Republicans do. The Columbia Journalism Review is reporting that regardless of promises, access by the press and reporters is sill being obstructed by BP and the federal government.
No one expects Pres. Obama to know how to stop BP's blowout, because it's obvious no one does, though Matthew Simmons speaking on Dylan Ratigan's show almost a month ago suggested the amount of oil flowing into the Gulf was so catastrophic that military means should be used, like bombing the well, because the flow simply must be stopped. That's a decision that can only come from Pres. Obama, which I don't think would happen because of too many unknowable consequences. I've engaged with oil experts since the start of this environmental 9/11, but haven't found anyone that can guarantee an outcome. Beyond stopping the leak, the job of containment and cleanup is under Obama's direction and leadership, so there is no excuse for not having oil-sucking barges working overtime. The latest ABC story about the delays and screw ups on the ground are understandably infuriating for Gov. Bobby Jindal. There is no good excuse for it, and the lack of coordination and "command and control" issues land on Pres. Obama's desk. Many oil experts believe supertankers should also be utilized, with the red tape keeping this from occurring bridged immediately.
The politics of energy is playing out amidst all of this.
Rep. Joe Barton is the face and future of American energy policy, if Republicans get back in power. People need to digest that fact and think about it, because it's been proven through what happened under Bush-Cheney for eight years when MMS basically became an agency of oil cronies and incompetence, corruption and malfeasance.
However, Pres. Obama and the Democrats who are in charge down in the Gulf right now, including Interior Sect. Ken Salazar, who I believe should have been relieved of his job weeks ago, still don't have a handle on their side of this containment and cleanup. That's obvious to anyone watching this nightmare day after day.
So it's no wonder people are furious at government and Congress. There is not much to recommend any of them right now.
The sad truth is we have come to expect Republicans to be incompetent and disrespectful of government. But on the other side, Democrats are expected to be competent at running the government, and so far, Pres. Obama and his team have flunked that test.
Meanwhile, as you read this and plan your weekend, tens of thousands of gallons of crude oil continue to spew into the Gulf, with no end in sight.
Taylor Marsh is a political analyst out of Washington, D.C.
Follow Taylor Marsh on Twitter: www.twitter.com/taylormarsh
The stupidity just boggles the mind!
Only the little people at BP are actually British- Tony Hayward for example. Say do you think this was a German invasion like WW3 of the USA through our own gluttony for the greasy stuff? Someone has to tell us who really owns BP Oil, who is on their current Board of Directors?
Source: Politico
Democrats attempted Thursday to create unlimited liability for oil companies, and for the fourth time since the Gulf crisis began, Republicans objected.
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) asked for a voice vote to pass a bill that would hold oil companies accountable for all damages they create, a significant leap from the $75 million cap set by current law. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Environmental and Public Works Committee, rejected the request.
Menendez's fourth failed shot at moving the liability bill came just a day after BP President Tony Hayward committed to establishing a $20 billion escrow fund, touted by both the White House and Congress, to help clean up what has become the most devastating ecological disaster in American history.
"Are we going to stand up for the communities and the coast along the Gulf shores, or are we going to stand up with Big Oil? That is what this is about, about setting responsibility where responsibility should lie," Menendez said on the floor.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0610/38666.html
http://www.politicolnews.com/bp-oil-lease-mms-head-resigns
Mr Oynes was promoted to his last position by: Randal Luthi:
http://thinkprogress.org/interior-scandals-under-bush
Barton goes underground as Democrats and late night comedians take their shots
snip: American Enterprise Institute congressional scholar Norm Ornstein :
"A major figure apologizing to BP enables the Democrats to put Republicans on the side of the oil companies that did this," to the Gulf, said Ornstein, "and not on the side of the American people."
http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/06/18/2276854/barton-goes-underground-as-democrats.html
Republicans are also claiming that it’s the governments fault for failing to force the oil industry to obey the law. That’s like saying that if a bank gets robbed it’s the fault of the police for failing to stop them. The Republicans have sided with the oil companies and against the people. When people ask, “What can we do to stop a disaster like this again?” What we can do is vote the Republicans out, pass tough energy reform legislation, and get America off of oil. This time for real.
As the clock ticks down on moving towards "alternatives", our huge coal deposits are waiting for the national will to get used for electricity. When Nat gas is used for transportation, we will go through our NG reserves like ants thru sugar.
Who is going to give up their way of life?
So comfy and full of entertainments!
As our standard of living descends, our politics will be the messenger of energy salvation.
http://exiledonline.com/teagagged-tea-party-protest-silenced-over-organizers-links-to-2008-drill-here-drill-now-astroturf-campaign/
http://www.generalhonore.com/
He was the general who finally got into downtown New Orleans after Katrina and got things in order... He has a plan for this oil, he is calling it WWIII and well, check it out:
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/jun/08/na-declare-world-war-iii-on-oil-spill-in-gulf-of-m/news-opinion-commentary/
When I heard this guy on the radio I couldn't help yelling, YES YES YES and pumping my fists... a man with a plan! Yes, this should be also handled militarily and by that I don't necessarily mean blowing anything up... instead as Gen. Honore suggests we treat this like a war, mobilize the entire available military, pull men out of Iraq and Afg if need be and attack the oil in the gulf before it gets to more of the shore... This dude has a plan and he's not nuts :-)
http://exiledonline.com/teagagged-tea-party-protest-silenced-over-organizers-links-to-2008-drill-here-drill-now-astroturf-campaign/