Yesterday, executives including BP’s chairman Lamar McKay, Transocean CEO Steve Newman, and Halliburton’s Timothy Probert appeared before a hearing in the House Energy and Commerce Committee to dodge responsibility for their respective roles in the Deepwater Horizon Gulf Coast oil spill.
About an hour before the investigation began, House Republicans gathered a few blocks away for an “oil and gas breakfast” fundraiser with the oil and gas industry to benefit Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX). View a screenshot of the invitation from the Political Party Time blog below:
ThinkProgress reported from the fundraiser and spoke with several lawmakers as they went in and out of the building. We asked Brady, who praised the environmental record of the oil industry shortly after the spill, if he still believed that oil drilling still has a “very positive” record. He replied, “you know, I do.”
Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) “” the chairman of the Republican committee tasked with raising funds to elect more House Republicans “” told us that he saw no conflict with his members raising money from the oil industry just about an hour before BP was scheduled to appear for questioning:
TP: Do you think that on the morning that the House is going to talk to these BP and other oil executives, it’s good that your caucus is meeting with the oil and gas industry for a fundraiser?
SESSIONS: You know what I think is really good is that Barack Obama wants oil prices to skyrocket, consumers to pay five dollar gasoline, and to continue his drive to lose ten million American jobs.
TP: I saw that Frank Luntz went into the fundraiser. Did he give you that talking point?
SESSION: No, you see, I put them on the floor of the House every day.
Watch it:
While Republican lawmakers have quietly backed away from their robust pro-oil industry chants of “drill, baby drill,” they have not backed away from their unequivocal support for the oil industry.
This repost is from Lee Fang at Think Progress.
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Language Intelligence: Lessons on persuasion from Jesus, Shakespeare, Lincoln, and Lady Gaga
Do any of these guys ever have an epiphany?
There is precedent for this. Warriors have become pacifists (including my father, who fought in three wars as an Army colonel), and merchants have become monks.
We need someone from that breakfast who will wake up one morning, look at the mirror while shaving, and see the horror that has become his life. A personal story here would resonate with the public. There must be a candidate at that oil and politicians breakfast meeting- after all, the only thing these men live for is money. Eventually someone may learn that it’s not that good.
This is a little off-topic, my apologies. References to Anti-science or climate deniers etc… do not get to the core of the issue at hand, in my oppinion. These represent strategies of the opposition but not the core value and therefore, maybe, less effective.
On our side we have the ENVIRONMENTALISTs which, while used by some as a badge of honor and others as a derogetory label, represents our objective of preserving the present environmental system so that life as we know it can continue in a posotive and progressive mode as it has for thousands of years.
I believe the primary objective of the other side is the preservation of corporate freedom and financial power. I would refer to those who support this value as CORPORATIONISTs.
It seems necessary to distinguish between the leadership of the corporationists because there is an inherent dishonesty between the leadership and the followers. The motivation and valuse of the two groups seems to be different and how the followers benefit is not clear except that they clearly respond to the emotional appeals of the leadership. This divide between leadership and the rank and file is much less pronounced on the environmentalist side, though maybe I just cant see it because of my own bias. The obvious benefit is a stable, predictable, inhabitable environment for all.
I must say that the prospect of Massive global climate shift scares me more that death. This would be my greatest fear. Life is supposed to continue and be better for those who come after. Climate change throws that into doubt.
So in review – environmentalists vs. corporationists
David, I think many of us have lowered our sights and ENVIRONMENTALISTs no longer describes what we are hoping for. SUSTAINABILITISTs might be a more encompassing label.
I prefer to think of us as RATIONALISTS, and myself personally as the subset HUMANIST. I kind of like our species, despite the many negative decisions we’ve made and impacts we’ve had, and would like to provide future generations of humans a chance to build on and improve upon the foundation we’ve laid as opposed to tearing it down every chance we get.
I agree David.Thanks.
Venezuelan gas platform sinks in Caribbean
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/05/13/venezuela-gas-platform.html
And if the the blog (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dot.comments/2010/05/blame_republicans_for_oil_spill.html?hpid=topnews) over at the Washington Post has it correct, people understand what the GOP did for oil, and a lot of people are unhappy about what the GOP gave to Oil Companies.
“I pledge allegiance to the barrel
of the capitalist states of America
and to the destruction for which it stands,
still oozing, undeniably,
with flooding and heat waves for all.”
I completely with Dave.
Being a native of LA, I avow the unadulterated gall for any party, organization or lobbyist to hobnob with these transgressors of the oil industry.
The slugs of the GOP may be for sale but the environment, ecology, marshes, shoreline, seafood and wildlife-is not.
Deregulation and sloppy enforcement by oil man bush and his cronies has legitimized these Goliath-esq bullies of the oil industry
the audacity of any law, rule or regulation that challenges them of the power they bought and paid for.
Our illustrators, elected representatives worship at the knee and suck up the other end of these mega giants, to their enrichment and our exploitation and destruction.
It may be generations, if at all, before the damage is undone.
A fundraiser for them. what is this world coming to. The oil company’s need to fix this. We need to get congress to pass law to make it easier for me to get off the grid.
Roger