For 60+ days oil has been purging into the Gulf Of Mexico like a cut jugular. Millions of acres of marshland, swamps and beaches are at stake as well as the lives of fish, animals and people. Everyone knows it’s important, BP, the Coast Guard, the Obama administration, people who live near the gobs of oil washing up on shore along with dead birds and fish.
Congress summoned the CEO of BP to publicly chastise the company for not doing enough to clean-up the spill. Not only that, Congress demands BP setup a war chest of funds for recompensation to Gulf Coast residents which exceeds $4 billion. Despite the fact that there’s a $75 million maximum penalty capped by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.
President Obama addressed the nation on the oil spill and his plan to clean it up. Pledging that BP will cover the costs of damages and that the National Guard has been deployed to assist. Our President also stated that he wanted to know whose ass to kick.
But what does all this mean?
Simply put, this is political maneuvering and just another crisis to be exploited by the Administration to take more control over the national economy as well as cap & trade. With the Administration having ramrodded the publicly unpopular Patient Protection and Affordability Act through the House and Senate, incumbent Democrats are worried about their jobs. Public support for the administration and the Democratic Party is slipping lower and lower.
The Congressional inquiry into BP CEO Tony Hayward was grandstanding at it’s finest with Senators taking their turns attacking Big Oil. Tony Hayward has also taken flak for being at a yacht race and not “doing more to clean up the mess.” I would agree that Hayward has made some comments that show is public-speaking skills are lacking and BP itself needs to hire a new PR firm (where are those guys from Sterling Cooper Draper & Pryce and are they available for hire?). BP did take the steps to buy Google keywords to redirect traffic to their site. Good going guys, way to spend thousands of dollars a day.
Really, now that I’m done rambling, let’s get to the meat of this.
- From the Socialist playbook – Never let a good crisis go to waste. Information on Rahm Emanuel’s socialist agenda can be read here.
- Disparage BP through Congressional inquiry to attack ‘Big Business’
- Pass a new energy bill during a lame duck Congress after the 4th of July Recess
Number 3 is really all that matters to the Administration. Democrats are watching their popularity dwindle, public opinion of the administration falter and the Silent Majority of right-leaning Democrats, Tea Partiers and conservatives gaining traction before the November 2010 mid-term elections. Before the balance of power shifts and the Democrats most likely losing their majority in the Senate (and possibly the House), the Administration wants to push through as much reform as they can before they lose power.
They already know their days are numbered. The oil spill gives the President a platform to campaign against Big Oil and push a “green” economy and energy bill. If they are going out the door they may as well try to push more through Congress while they can.
So let me leave you with these questions:
- How many millions of jobs will be lost by cutting back on oil production?
- If the Gulf oil spill is so catastrophic and important to fix, why must repair crews be union employees?
- Why did we turn away the help offered by other nations because they weren’t union?
- Who makes money on cap & trade? (List here)
