Republicans prove time and time again that they are truly a party of the people, the people that control big oil that is.

The biggest reason for oil companies to drill safely is to protect its business. No additional regulation will be a better or stronger incentive. This is just vindictiveness, for the purpose of slaying the evil oil company. Liberals love it, but it does not solve any problems.

By any rational definition, the outcomes produced from mixing free-market capitalism with the inherent dangers of an activity like energy exploration and extraction certainly meet my definition of evil. Of course I'm a crazy extreme environmentalist (like all the people in Canada) where they succumb to things like a National Energy Policy. You know we don't have one here in the US right? Not really; not a real policy. Of course we don't, our system is now actually broken. Check out Mr. Coll's article about Exxon Mobile to get a peek inside the ever-so-egalitarian shenanigans of a typical big oil company. http://m.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/04/09/120409fa_fact_coll

It is true that, since the Deepwater incident, not one drop of oil has spilled in the Gulf. However, when assessing blame for the factors leading up to the spill, one must remember that a President alone cannot create and pass a law. Gross negligence and resistance to support regulation of industry by the Republicans in Congress did spill millions of gallons of oil in the Gulf. It's funny; if the Dems try to regulate industry they are job killers; if they leave industry alone the GOP blames the Dems (not industry) when there is a spill. Yes, as time passes Obama will benefit greatly as people unfortunately and wrongly forget and their anger subsides. And yes, people should be furious with Obama for not fighting harder to prevent the environmental destruction the Republicans have set upon America; on that count he has been a failure. However, the Democratic-controlled Senate has passed a bill to funnel penalties from the spill to restoring the Gulf of Mexico's ecosystem, but House Republicans, in typical fashion, have yet to approve it. This fall, voters should consider Republican resistance to regulating industry and protecting the environment, and take that anger to the polls and hold the GOP accountable for their failures.

Sorry about that link to the pay-site. Here's a better one with some information about Steve Coll's new book on this subject: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/27/books/private-empire-steve-colls-book-on-exxon-mobil.html

You're joking! Right?

The spill disproves your theory!

Enjoy your Gulf shrimp!

"I'm a crazy extreme environmentalist (like all the people in Canada)..." I am guessing you never heard of tar sands.

Potlemac wrote "The spill disproves your theory!" At the time of the spill, we owned a BP gas station. Even though we had zero contact with BP (see the recent Globe articles about BP gas stations) we were the focus of consumers' rage. The result is our fuel sales were down tremendously, which probably played a role in Green Valley Oil going out of business. Ultimately BP itself was hurt financially. Just because this event happened does not disprove Richmond12's theory. Accidents will happen regardless of how much effort oil companies put into preventing them.

In today's right-wing reactionary climate, simply having an Energy Policy, with defined goals counter to that of big-business makes the entire country susceptible to charges of enviro-terrorism. Tar-sand extraction is very bad for the environment, but at least the Canadians have a political system with a functioning mechanism for planned decision making. We do not. Thanks for pointing out the hole in my argument. Really. I could pick any other modern western civilization to make the same point. Probably not the best example. Touche. Eh?

Potlemac, Your story is nothing to joke about. The conservative extremists at the conservative-extreme Boston Globe Comment Boards make reference to and apparently worry over what other, non-demagogue commenters say on this site. As flattering as the attention may be, I'm sure those non-demagogue commenters (who, as brilliant as they may be, have little true influence in the world) would rather you direct your attention and anger at politicians for their negligence in overseeing the actions of private industry. As usual, the conservative extremists turn a serious issue into a one-note, blame-Obama joke. How to actually ensure that BP is held responsible is the better question. Elected officials of both parties have proven utter failures at dealing with the problem. Gee, when one party values industry profits over individuals and environmental protections, how could Deepwater not have happened? On the flip side, how about the OTHER party take responsibility and fight for what they claim to stand for, for once? >>> I wonder: is this argument too non-partisan for conservative commenters to understand? Or do they get it, but only care about playing the attack game so their side wins? Too funny. The system continues to fail to work for the conservative deceivers and party-over-country demagogues on the Boston Globe Comment Boards. Way too funny. L - O - L!!

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