Friday, June 18, 2010

Deep Water Drilling Moratorium - It's All Politics

THIS is from The Wall Street Journal: The oil drilling moratorium for deep water offshore drilling is all about politics. This is no surprise. Class warfare is alive and well in America, led largely by Barack Obama himself. The man thrives on that narrative and depends on divisions among people to push through his big government takeovers and huge legislation agenda.

All of this matters because it offers proof the moratorium was driven by politics, not safety. The drilling ban was not reviewed by experts, and was not necessary to satisfy most of the safety recommendations in Mr. Salazar's report. It was authored by political actors so Mr. Obama could look tough. A cynic might argue the ban was only added after review precisely because the Administration knew experts would refuse to endorse it.

Color me a cynic.

Weary of pieces critical of the deep water moratorium? Wait until you are paying $5 a gallon at the gas pump. This moratorium doesn't just simply affect the thousands of offshore workers and service workers and small businesses along the Gulf coast. This moratorium affects the entire country. Plus the added bonus of making our nation more dependent on foreign oil, not less, as is the proclaimed goal of this administration. This is all about politics.

"You don't want to let a good crisis get away" is a quote from Athan Manuel. Manuel is director of lands protection for Sierra Club. The goal of Sierra Club is a permanent moratorium on all new offshore drilling. This logic is the result of allowing ideology to dictate policy. The extreme in the environmental movement insist the moratorium is the first step of action, not a temporary move.

The oil drilling industry is the most regulated and taxed of any in this nation. If more regulation is needed, begin by enforcing the regulations already on the books. That is common sense. Reform the corrupted aspects of the MMS. Do away with the cozy relationships and do the job of keeping an eye on operations.

Barack Obama benefited more from BP contributions as a candidate for President than any other. Obama placed the director of MMS into that position. This administration was well into their second year of a four year term when the Deepwater Horizon blew up. This administration's MME signed off on the oil rigs permits and procedures. Those are the facts.

Did Obama shut down coal mining after the last tragic accident which killed several miners? No. He even attended and eulogized the miners at the memorial held for them. This double standard, too, is all about politics. It is wrong.

The immediate fall-out of the moratorium will reap more pain on the Gulf coast. Not only does the population residing there have to deal with potentially devastating destruction of the fishing industry and the wetlands but small businesses are on the ropes. Service industries have no drilling rigs to service. Tourism is way down from uncertainty. For those living paycheck to paycheck, the effects are immediate. Unemployment numbers skyrocket. Most Americans are simply not aware of the numbers of people affected by a drilling moratorium. It is in the hundreds of thousands. How does all this fit into Obama's claim of not resting until everyone has a job?

A quote from The Wall Street Journal: "Mr. President, you were looking for someone's butt to kick," said Lafourche Parish President Charlotte Randolph, recently. "You're kicking ours."

Today Obama goes to Ohio to celebrate a building project - the alleged 10,000th project funded by the stimulus program. Bonus - the workers are being told to stay home today due to the presidential visit. They will each lose about $200, on average as a result. Way to go, Mr. President. What will the people in the drilling industry and along the Gulf coast celebrate today?

Day 60.

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