Landrieu Makes Obama Cry ‘Uncle’ on Drilling Moratorium

She is One Scary Senator

Politico reports that the Obama Administration ended the offshore drilling ban “a month early”.

Although this is good news for Gulf State economies, don’t be fooled into thinking their suffering prompted President Obama to proper action.

No, good old-fashioned backroom politics got it done. Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) placed a “hold” on the nomination of Jack Lew as director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. The action effectively held the nomination hostage until Landrieu relented.

In other words, she threw a senatorial hissy. And, more importantly, Obama caved.

Is it any wonder Ahmadinejad and Kim aren’t persuaded by Obama’s tough talk? If you can’t move Mary Landrieu off a dime, well… where are you really?

But, back to the drilling ban. As Ed Morrissey writes at Hot Air:

A month early? Try at least two months too late. A study conducted by Barack Obama’s own hand-picked commission showed that not only was the blanket moratorium no longer needed, it was never necessary in the first place.  (emphasis added)

This presidential decision had nothing to do protecting the environment. While the drilling moratorium was in place, the Obama Administration approved a $1 billion loan to Mexico for expanded operations in the Gulf. 

If the administration was so concerned with potential ecological damage, why was it permissible for Mexico to expand drilling operations in the same body of water? Does Mexican crude oil not stick to water fowl, kill fish or pollute beaches? Of course, it does. 

The offshore drilling ban was pure leftist politics on a number of levels. First, the ban was an obvious sop to environmentalist groups who questioned Obama’s commitment to the cause. Second, the moratorium was a “dead fish” message sent to the oil companies. And third, the action was based on the wealth redistribution dogma central to Obama’s political ideology.

All of that was certainly much more important to Obama than the jobs of 10,000 Americans. Aren’t those the same American workers Democrats always claim to protect? Oh well, the ends justify the means, right?

What delicious irony that the whole plan was brought down by bare-knuckled politics as practiced by a liberal Democrat who benefits from oil industry campaign donations.

That President Obama sure has them all shaking in their boots.

© 2010 by kens*ten. All rights reserved.

Jindal: Let Us Go Back to Work

Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) / Getty Images

My second favorite governor right now is Bobby Jindal (R-LA). New Jersey’s Chris Christie is ‘Da Bomb’  only because he’s fighting a Democrat-controlled state legislature. Louisiana is a solid Red State.

Jindal has been a vocal critic of President Obama’s offshore drilling moratorium. At a rally in Lafayette, Louisiana Jindal passed along a message to POTUS: 

“We don’t want a BP check. We don’t want an unemployment check. Let us go back to work.”