Guard watches coast for oil slick's first wave

[12thMan]

Originally Posted by Slingin Sammy 33

No conservative I heard mentioned anything about socialism or "howled" when MMS was found to be negligent in carrying out their responsibilities and having inappropriate relationships with the oil companies. No reasonable conservative would've said a damn thing if the Obama Administration had simply complied with the permit and enforcement practices and regulations in place. Had they done that this problem may have been averted.

Huge difference between necessary regulation (safety of oil wells/rigs) and unnecessary regulation (crap & trade). Expanding drilling should not be a problem if proper safety practices are kept by the oil industry and enforced properly by the government. The U.S. Gov't receives a percentage of the oil revenue from these operations, and as such has the right and responsibility to enforce safety regulation.

Your all-saving federal government dropped the ball in a big way here too. And as you mentioned, they don't have the solution to stop the problem either so what good would it do to federalize BP. You think Hugo, Fidel and the Chinese give a damn about the environment, this could just as easily happened off the coast of Venezula or the Florida strait.

Venezuela Offshore Rig Sinks - NYTimes.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/09/wa...n/09drill.html

Of course you didn't hear any conservative howling socialism during a time of crisis. Why would they, it would be political suicide. Rand Paul was the only fool out there defending BP, but I digress. And I beg to differ that had Obama ratcheted up the pressure on MMS prior to this spill that conservatives would have just sat by silently. You would have seen every Tea Party protest(er) that Fox could point their cameras at calling the president Marxist, Socialist, and everything else under the sun. Republicans have made the calculation, I believe foolishly, that the only way back to a majority in Congress is to flat out oppose all Obama legislation. Even if it's a position they've previously supported.

But I think the larger point to be made, from a political and policy perspective, is that the drill, baby, drill crowd: Sarah Palin, Michael Steele, John McCain et al have been curiously silent regarding how they would deal with BP, the oil spill and the damage it has inflicted on the environment, and how the US should approach off shore drilling in a sensible way in the future. I think this president deserves (of course he won't get it here) tremendous credit for including off shore drilling in his energy policy and having the courage to continue to stand by his decision.

[Slingin Sammy 33]

Originally Posted by 12thMan

And I beg to differ that had Obama ratcheted up the pressure on MMS prior to this spill that conservatives would have just sat by silently. You would have seen every Tea Party protest(er) that Fox could point their cameras at calling the president Marxist, Socialist, and everything else under the sun.

We'll just have to disagree on this one. I don't see O'Reilly/Hannity/Rush/Fox News/etc. running segments on the "Marxist Obama Admin. enforcing existing MMS policy and regulation that has been in place since the Bush Admin." Beck, maybe. But only if the red phone and chalk board linking Obama/BP/Mao/Chavez/ Stalin are in the segment.

FWIW, I recall O'Reilly defending the Admin's response a week or two ago.

But I think the larger point to be made, from a political and policy perspective, is that the drill, baby, drill crowd: Sarah Palin, Michael Steele, John McCain et al have been curiously silent regarding how they would deal with BP, the oil spill and the damage it has inflicted on the environment, and how the US should approach off shore drilling in a sensible way in the future.

Which is pretty stupid IMO. No way they should let the Dems and Obama Admin take sole credit for better rules/regs and punishing BP. Now would be the time to work across the aisle to put an unlimited cap on damages, which would force oil companies to assess risks differently than with a cap of $ 75M or $ 350M whatever it is (jtf, that's how a free market should work). Jam BP for every last cent to clean up this disaster and compensate folks in the Gulf whose property values and livelihoods are destroyed, and if BP won't play, shut down every drilling permit they have in U.S. territory. Put in tougher safety inspection and permitting processes and make the oil companies pay a fee/royalty for the increased manpower to support better inspections. Make damn sure every safety device recommended is a requirement.

I think this president deserves (of course he won't get it here) tremendous credit for including off shore drilling in his energy policy and having the courage to continue to stand by his decision.

Let's not break our arms patting Obama on the back for "including off-shore drilling" here. All he did was allow for expansion of exploration on the Eastern seaboard and North coast of Alaska, with the leases for exploration not being bid on until 2012. This decision was calculated to gain support for his cap & tax proposal.