Much has been said over the last 60+ days regarding this terrible disaster that has occurred in the Gulf. Everyone it seems has a different opinion on who is responsible and what someone should have been doing but did not do. Regardless of how we feel about this incident and the response by both BP and this administration, one thing is clear, it vindicates Bush.
Many in the media have already said that this is Obama’s Katrina. While some have admitted that it is, others have avoided saying the obvious. But we know the truth.
I believe this issue vindicates Bush for a few reasons. When Katrina occurred, the despicable tactic from those on the Left and in the media was to suggest that Government was quick, efficient, and effective; but because the president was a Republican who wanted to prove that government was slow and inefficient, he (Bush) deliberately responded in a slow and inefficient way, which was the reason why the people in LA were suffering. They then topped that off by claiming that Bush hated black people, which allowed his slow response to come more naturally.
All this and more they said to perpetuate the myth that an obese Federal Government entangled by its own fat of red, blue, yellow and green tape can move as fast as a Government should, if it was instead slim, trim, efficient and effective. Only a liberal can make the case concerning government that the more peripheral activities it amasses the more efficient it becomes. Outside of government, a father does not add more things to his to-do list for work when he wants to spend more time with his wife and kids. This is not only true for a father but it is also true for everything else. One never becomes more efficient at their core by increasing the peripheral. It is illogical, yet if you tell that to a liberal regarding government, they will faint outrage and say you want no government.
As I turn on my television and continue to see oil spewing into the Gulf I am tempted to join with other and faint outrage that Obama’s administration is moving slow or is failing to get on top of this issue, but I choose not to. The reason why, is because I know that this is the actual pace of Big Government. There is nothing slow about Obama’s response. There is no need for him to get “black” and “angry” as some have suggested. There was also nothing slow about Bush’s response. The speed at which Government moved with Bush and the speed at which it is moving with Obama is top speed.
Most of us remember Exxon Valdez or we read about it. Much of what we are hearing from the Left concerning BP was also said about Exxon. How we need more Government because we cannot depend on for-profit corporations to look out for the people and our environment. In the heat of the moment Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act which clearly states that “the Federal government is required to direct all public and private response efforts for certain types of spill events; Area Committees — composed of federal, state, and local government officials — must develop detailed, location-specific Area Contingency Plans; and owners or operators of vessels and certain facilities that pose a serious threat to the environment must prepare their own Facility Response Plans.” All we have been hearing from the Keith Olberman’s and the Rachel Maddow’s of the world is the fact that these oil companies drilling in the Gulf did not have a plan to respond to this disaster. That is in fact true. However, according to government’s own laws where they made themselves responsible for responding to such disasters, they also have no plan. Where is the governments plan? If the government is going to amass more and more power and responsibility, then it must be able to respond; it clearly is over its head on this and many other issues.
From a Capitalistic perspective, come to think of it, the Oil Pollution Act may also be the reason why oil companies did not deem it necessary to invest in the technologies necessary to respond to a disaster. Think about it; according to the Act, their responsibility was financial reimbursements. If you were told to just have the money in the bank to pay the maid for coming out to clean your home, would you invest in a vacuum? Who would? Is this another possible unforeseen consequence of government regulation?
There is a saying that goes; if you say something to yourself repeatedly, you will eventually believe it. Most liberal were told that there is nothing stopping government if liberals are in charge and the only reason our government has failed us in the past was because Republicans who don’t have at heart the success of government were in control.
The people believed and elected the person who described the response to Katrina in terms like “unconscionable ineptitude”. The person who said “we’re gonna have to do some hard thinking about how we could have failed our fellow citizens so badly, and how we will prevent such a failure from ever occurring again.” This is the person who promised, “the federal government will never again allow such catastrophic failures in emergency planning and response to occur.” Yes, we elected Barack Obama.
Now that they have a catastrophe on their hands, the Left will not tell you that Government is responsible for response. They have left the onus on BP and are trying to blame the predecessor and say that this is just another Obama inheritance. Is it really? Even if it is, that only explains what led to the rupture in the Gulf. Obama is still left with explaining why the response of government is more in line with the actual slow and inept speed of an obese Federal Government that we have seen time and again and far below the high expectations set by liberals as to what government is able to do with liberals in charge.