It’s been rather entertaining, watching how amidst the ongoing catastrophe in the Gulf, so many on the left are eagerly shoving BP on to the right. After all, they’re Big Oil, and so many Republicans are part and parcel of Big Oil. And, more generally, they’re Big Business, which is usually viewed as more conservative.
Oddly enough, that doesn’t really hold up to scrutiny.
A few years ago, BP decided to simplify its name and drop the “_ritish _etroleum.” Then, it started “going green” by saying how the new, meaningless letters actually stood for “Beyond Petroleum.” They were selling themselves as the “green energy” company. They championed the “Cap And Trade” move that promises to drive energy costs through the roof. They have an army of Democratic activists and operatives and apparatchiks on their payroll. White House Chief of Staff previously lived for five years, rent-free, in a home owned by a BP adviser. The majority of BP’s political donations have gone to Democrats — the largest recipient being President Obama himself.
In brief, BP hedged its bets somewhat, but came down quite firmly on the side of the Democrats.
So, in light of that, do I wish to withdraw my previous “defenses” of BP?
Hell, no.
BP’s political leanings are utterly irrelevant to the situation at hand. The oil gushing into the Gulf knows no party affiliation. The only reason to try to hang the disaster on one party or another is for political gain — and we simply don’t have time for bullshit games like that.
When the oil is stopped, when the cleanup has begun, when steps have been taken to prevent future such catastrophes, then we can look into the blame game. And at that point, all those Democrats who were so eager to accept BP’s money and champion their legislation can explain to their constituents how there was absolutely no connection between the two.
In the meantime, the only reason to even discuss the matter is to shut up those who are working so desperately to make this a “Republican disaster.”
Partly because they know that the actual responsibility is far more bipartisan and nonpartisan than their simple knee-jerk “blame Bush” reactions to everything.
And partly because it reveals that they have absolutely no fucking clue on what else to do. That they have no idea how to handle a real crisis, so they instead stick to what they do know: political bickering and partisan gamesmanship.
There is a point when doing so in the face of real danger constitutes treason…
