Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Fiddling While Rome Burns: Oil Spill Department

Or maybe they're making hay during a thunderstorm. Choose your cliche.

Point being that, while an oil spill of unprecedented scope moves toward Louisiana -- a state which has already suffered adequately from the combination of bad weather and Republican incompetence -- some of the "drill, baby, drillers" have renewed their call for more (not less, more) offshore oil drilling.

Call it striking while the iron is extremely cold.

Remember that the big plan for offshore drilling might reduce our foreign-oil requirements by something like 3% in ten years. At least we think those are the numbers. So drilling isn't even a stopgap, and support for drilling isn't motivated by any sort of common sense. It's motivated by oil companies and the gazillion dollars they will pay you for voting their way.

In fairness, this is an act of bipartisan cupidity. The culprits are Reps. John Boehner (R-OH) and Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA). Boehner is a famous imbecile, and we assume that he is supported by his own tribe, who will therefore do nothing to remove him.

Landrieu, on the other hand, is due for re-election in 2014. Loathe as we are to endanger Democratic control of the Senate, we do hope that when the shrimp-fishermen of coastal Louisiana step into the voting booth, they remember the sea of oily crude that obliterated their livelihood.

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