BP, Democrats, Obama and Big Oil

BP, Democrats, Obama and Big Oil

The worst part of the leak might finally be over. If things go according to plan, BP will know if the latest fix is successful.

President Obama’s rating have taken a hit since the crisis started. For what reason, I’m not sure. What do people expect him to do? He can’t stop the leak. He can’t clean up the oil. He can’t make BP working any faster. Some people think federal government intervention is the answer to everything.

What Obama and the Democrats have done is unnerving. The blanket moratorium on deep water drilling is typical knee jerk reaction of the government. The ban covered all existing deep wells and allows no new well permits.

Instead of looking for causes into the current leak, Obama decide to unilaterally punish all companies doing work in the Gulf of Mexico without rhyme or reason. The blame and investigation should focus only on BP and the site where the explosion occurred. BP’s track record for disasters is well documented. The whole industry is punished for the acts of a company that in the past has acted with disregard for safety, rules and regulations.

The moratorium also affects the livelihood of those that work in the industry, support the industry and hurts an already battered local economy. A wide unjustified moratorium is unnecessary.

The other disturbing act by the President is basically ignoring the recent court ruling that overturned the drilling ban. Instead of honoring the court ruling, Obama and his staff went back to the drawing board to craft a new ban. Instead of honoring and respecting the court ruling, the Democrats decided to try a new ban that suits their purposes. It is a very chilling snub of the American rule of law. The courts serve as a check on the executive powers and Obama won’t respect that check.

There is no other way around it. Until a new energy source is found for mass use, the world needs to keep drilling and using oil. It is the lifeblood of the world economy. The root cause of the BP leak needs to be investigated. If BP is guilty by all means punish them with fines. Sometimes tragic but genuine accidents happen. Burdening the industry and stifling an economy due to one incident at one site doesn’t justify overreaching bans and regulations. Find the root cause, look for a solution if possible and then implement it industry wide if it is practical.

The scope of the leak is tragic. BP must make good on lost money, wages and livelihoods it caused. If BP is guilty of neglect they should pay. Until the real causes of the incident are found, government should back off and not shoot from the hip on regulations, blame or punishing the industry.