July 1, 2010

In a totally unsurprising move, Sen. Landrieu once again stood up for her benefactors by opposing the proposed make-up of a commission consisting of independent scientists rather than her favored officials from the oil industry. We've seen this sort of behavior time and time again from Landrieu, and in a sense when a region is as reliant on an industry as hers is we somewhat expect it from some elected officials. What sets Landrieu apart from most like her is that she's quite proud of what she does, and her rationalizations are consistent if nothing else. And though she's not as stupid as Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) who would kiss BP's Tony Hayward's ass in public, her championing industry at every turn, even in time of crisis, is nothing short of appalling.

(NOLA) WASHINGTON -- On the same day the White House commission investigating the Gulf oil spill announced its first meetings -- July 12-13 in New Orleans -- a Senate committee cast what amounted to a no-confidence vote on the commission's objectivity.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted Wednesday to create a congressional bipartisan commission to investigate the spill, with Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and others saying a separate panel is needed because the White House commission has four environmental advocates -- three members and the executive staff director -- but no oil industry representation.

"Maybe the commission that the Congress sets up, in a more balanced fashion, with both very strong environmental views and very strong industry views, could actually come up with something that really might work for the dilemma and the challenge that this nation faces, which briefly is this: We use 20 million barrels of oil a day," Landrieu said. "That was true the day before the Deepwater Horizon blew up. It is true today. And we need to get that oil from somewhere."

The video above from CNN investigates Landrieu's industry ties, somewhat timidly, but at least the mainstream media is beginning to ask the questions which to the rest of us is patently obvious. Sheila Krumholz of the Center for Responsive Politics makes some good points about Landrieu.

Can you help us out?

For nearly 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but now Facebook is drowning us in an ocean of right wing lies. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon