Sarah Palin urged the country to "trust the oil industry" and to continue to pursue offshore drilling initiatives in light of the Gulf Coast oil spill when delivering a speech in Missouri over the weekend.
The Kansas City Star reports that Palin called the massive oil slick "tragic," but defended drilling as a viable energy solution when speaking to a mostly Republican crowd:
Gulf of Mexico oil spill or not, Sarah Palin on Saturday defended offshore drilling as an essential component of U.S. energy security.
Speaking to a crowd of mostly Republicans at the Independence Events Center, the former Alaska governor called the oil spill "very tragic" but added: "I want our country to be able to trust the oil industry."
She said the U.S. must wean itself from foreign oil in order to be truly free.
Palin's advocacy for offshore drilling in her Missouri speech was not the first time she emphasized that her pro-drilling would not be dissuaded by the Gulf Coast spill. On Friday, the ex-Alaska governor took to her Facebook page to make her position on the issue crystal clear:
Alaskans understand the tragedy of an oil spill, and we've taken steps to do all we can to prevent another Exxon tragedy, but we are still pro-development.
[...]
I repeat the slogan "drill here, drill now" not out of naivete or disregard for the tragic consequences of oil spills - my family and my state and I know firsthand those consequences.