Red states, Republican governors and the oil spill

While I am as heartsick as anyone about what has happened to our Gulf of Mexico, and I do not think that President Obama has done as much as quickly as he could to clean up the Department of Interior situation; and, I am sympathetic with the people in Louisiana who have suffered so much already...I do not have much sympathy with Governor Jindal...or with the Northwest Florida delegation of senators and representatives.

A quick look at Jindal's voting record over the last few years clearly shows he has been a proponenent of off shore drilling and federal land drilling. Not near-shore, but off shore...Project Vote Smart - Governor Piyush Amrit 'Bobby' Jindal - Voting Record

Not one of our NW Florida delegation would stand against the near-shore drilling when it came up in the Florida legislature; now, they are all pointing fingers at anyone they can, but when they had the opportunity to do something -- they did nothing but hide behind the Air Force!

When Jindal had the opportunity to do something, he voted "Yes" on almost every vote to drill!

What we need in Tallahassee and Washington are people who have the best interests of the country and state at heart...instead of the next political campaign.

Senator Bill Nelson has been a lone voice against off shore drilling.

IMO we need to elect people who will stand on principle, not politics and selfish interests; and until we do, then we see what we get!

well said

The even greater irony here is that despite his calls for help, he's finding the federal government completely incapable of providing the help he needs. By-in- large the feds have either hindered or completely bungled the response. Ultimately Jindal's position ends up getting vindicated, you can't rely on the federal government for help, It's grown too large, and too slow to do much of anything effectively.

Or is the greater irony the fact he has abandoned the private sector he believes should not be intruded upon and is asking a government for help that has no expertise in oil drilling?

NEW ORLEANS (AP)-- Responding to suggestions that the military should take the lead in responding to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says the oil industry is better-equipped to deal with the disaster.
Speaking Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America," Adm. Mike Mullen said the military has looked at equipment it has available but "the best technology in the world, with respect to that, exists in the oil industry."

Or is the greater irony the fact he has abandoned the private sector he believes should not be intruded upon and is asking a government for help that has no expertise in oil drilling?

There's irony in that as well.

I feel there is a role here for the feds. The federal government is capable of punishing BP for it's mistakes, and funding help with state based recovery. (One of the few things it can do effectively, as all it requires is few words on a sheet of paper.) I think though that if LA did not have the federal government to fall back on (if we in general, did not live with this false sense of security big government entices us with) they would be in a far better position today in response to this, and past disasters like Katrina.

Jindal's cry for help will be met with federal failure. He's far better off ignoring the federal government and dealing with the situation on his own. LA has been waiting for weeks for environmental studies to complete, berms to be built, boom to be delivered and deployed.. had he thrown all that to the wind and just dug in to get the work done, there wouldn't be any oil in his marshes today.

One of the things that I find fascinating about this - the federal government is currently run by liberals who pontificate the virtues of big government. Yet here we are with a real world crisis and the feds have shown nothing but ineptitude from top down (Obama included, who didn't even see this as a major issue until 30 days after the leak broke lose and CNN started televising live coverage of the spill.)

I think it's high time we spin a little of this questioning around and ask the obvious question - if liberals feel the federal government is so great at managing everything, especially in crisis times, and especially when the "right leader" in charge, why have they failed so miserably in dealing with this oil spill? Nobody can argue against the fact that they've done a horrible job to date.

One of the things that I find fascinating about this - the federal government is currently run by liberals who pontificate the virtues of big government. Yet here we are with a real world crisis and the feds have shown nothing but ineptitude from top down (Obama included, who didn't even see this as a major issue until 30 days after the leak broke lose and CNN started televising live coverage of the spill.)

I think it's high time we spin a little of this questioning around and ask the obvious question - if liberals feel the federal government is so great at managing everything, especially in crisis times, and especially when the "right leader" in charge, why have they failed so miserably in dealing with this oil spill? Nobody can argue against the fact that they've done a horrible job to date.

I've never heard this stated but we can keep spinning and say it's because the federal government never got into the oil drilling business, they left this to the private sector who said they had every scenario covered. We can also say for sure that conservatives love for the federal government to stay out of the way until thay screw-up and then demand to be rescued. Maybe it is time the federal government got into the business and take charge of our oil resources and stop letting others pump it from the ground and sell it back to us making obscene profits.