The Great Offshore Drilling Flip-Flops
Jul 31, 2020267.8K Shares3.6M Views
Now that Sen. Barack Obama has hopped on the offshore drilling bandwagon, I find myself asking, who won’t cross over to the dark side on this issue? Grist has a good answer: state governors.
As Grist’s Kate Sheppard points out, President George W. Bush, Sen. John McCain and many GOPers agree that states should get final say in whether or not to allow drilling on their shores. And many state governors are saying no.
Gov. Aronld Schwarzenneger of California has loudly and repeatedly said no. He’s also saidthat anyone claiming offshore drilling will reduce gas prices is "blowing smoke." Governors of Washington, Oregon, New Jersey, Maine, South Carolina and North Carolina have all chimed in saying no too. Many of these governors give a reason besides conservation for its own sake. They say that offshore drilling would create eye sores that would hurt the tourism industry in their states. Others worry about the fishing industry.
So far the big governor flip-flop toward the offshore drilling ship comes from Florida Gov. Charlie Crist. Many believethis was just a move to make him more desirable as a potential running mate for Sen. McCain, so it’s quite possible Crist will flippity flop back to the opposing camp if he isn’t the VP pick.
The good news remains that even if Congress gives offshore drilling the go-ahead, many states will stand strong to protect their economies and environments.
Rhyley Carney
Reviewer
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