Ridiculous court decisions financed by large corporations and industries seem to not only be increasing in number, but also be ever-more transparent in their intent – the recent block of President Obama’s moratorium on deep-water drilling by a Federal Court is no exception. Even more preposterous is the support of the State of Louisiana for the overturning of the drilling ban, despite the ongoing ecological disaster that very state is currently experiencing at the hands of an industry they so blatantly choose to support.

The problem of Deepwater Horizon surrounds a search for profits over safety and a complete disregard of federal regulation, not any sort of accident or event otherwise removing BP, Transocean, and Halliburton from positions of culpability – who’s to say that this is an isolated incident? Given the vicious, highly litigious, heavily lobbying industry that is Big Oil, it’s very easy to assume that such practices are being carried out on other oil operations in an effort to maximize their bottom line. This is the simple reason for the temporary ban on deep-water drilling, a mere six months, allowing regulators and other oversight bodies to ensure the proper construction and operation of facilities that have the potential for disaster of comparable, or greater, proportions.

It should come as no surprise, sadly, that the judge responsible for this despicable and utterly shortsighted ruling, Martin Feldman, was appointed by Ronald Reagan, the founder of the deregulatory and anti-government era, and has a personal investment in the success of American oil operations. This sort of personal investment is the very reason for recusal, and yet the illustrious Judge Feldman didn’t see fit to behave in the official and unbiased fashion for which he is employed – instead, he chose to continue the precedent of conservative judges claiming neutrality while making sure he, his friends, and his ideological interests benefit in the greatest possible way from his rulings from the bench. This type of behavior can be expected to continuously resurface as healthcare reform is challenged by irrational litigatorselection results don’t suit the conservative fringe.

Worringly, however, is the response of Louisiana: a state with an anti-Obama governor who vehemently opposed the very existence of the federal government suddenly demanded extreme government intervention, while also supporting the classic conservative financier known as Big Oil in their efforts against the President. Why would a state ravaged by the abhorrent behaviors of an oil company also litigate for those same companies to continue operating as if nothing happened? The state’s ecology is in dire peril and its people are losing their way of life, yet Big Oil must, apparently, be defended, lest a Republican-led state appear to be too pro-regulation, or in favor of anything President Obama does. This is hypocrisy at best, and extreme ignorance at worst.

The Gulf Spill should not be a politicized event, simply due to its nature and magnitude, but the GO(B)P are doing absolutely everything in their power to make it so. Extreme partisanship continues to be the political stance of Republicans, and it’s doing nothing but embarrass them on the national stage – perhaps they should continue, so that not only are Democrats in a better electoral position come November, but Eric Holder will have a number of opportunities to ensure that intelligence, in the end, rules the day.

Kyle can be found on his blog, on Facebook, via email, or on Twitter.

From Kyle Brady…

The public’s response to the BP oil spill and its handling, most especially from Republicans, has been puzzling, at best: a cry for government intervention and aid from the very people who find such behaviors abhorrent, making President Obama out to be somehow responsible for the deregulatory activity of the last three decades , and demanding that a magic solution be found for a difficult engineering problem. It’s important to remember that while President Obama is President of the most powerful nation in the world, he’s not a comic book superhero, and is no more capable of singlehandedly solving the Gulf Coast’s oil crisis than he is enacting sweeping political change overnight. While certain actions could possibly have been taken by President Obama prior to the spill, such as a more critical look at the MMS, it’s doubtful that even those steps would have gone so far as to alleviate the brash and brutish mentality currently on display by both British Petroleum and Halliburton.

Even more puzzling has been the demand, on both sides of politics, for President Obama to “be more active”, “have a greater presence”, “show control”, and other such theatrics – wasn’t he elected, among other reasons, for the simple fact that his sense of melodrama is severely understated compared to his predecessor? Visiting beaches and recovery efforts provides for a nice photo-op and while they may help to communicate the gravity of the situation, in some small fashion, the actual presence of any top level bureaucrats does absolutely nothing for the cause – neither does a public display of righteous anger. To those that have come to understand President Obama’s political style over the last eighteen months, his concern for, and outrage regarding, the situation is visibly present in his remarks, even if his calm, professorial demeanor seems to indicate otherwise. The President’s job is not to babysit or micromanage, to exploit situations for personal political benefit or to feign personae tailored to the situation – his job, rather, is to run the country, lead the military, influence policy, and stand as a figurehead for the nation.

Both the near-term and long-term aftermath are, however, within the President’s job description: once the situation stabilizes, whether that means the well is sealed or that sealing efforts have been abandoned remains to be seen, he is to make sure the event, as a whole, is analyzed and properly dealt with. The process begins with a National Commission to deliver details on the timeline, parties responsible, and overall impact, and ends with retribution. For the time being, however, all President Obama can do is to continue to express his distaste for the situation, admonish the corporate arrogance, and wait for the process to turn to him – nothing more.

Most importantly, while this oil spill happened during President Obama’s time as President, his hands are not the ones covered with oil and the blood of all the animals killed by it – President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are. Without the help of deregulation, unenforcement, and what’s now being referred to as a “revolving door” between the regulators and oil companies, the present situation would have, statistically, had a better chance of never occurring. Furthermore, the colloquial “drill, baby, drill” mentality of many members of the federal government exacerbated an already bad situation by placing an emphasis on results rather than process. This is not “Obama’s Katrina”, this is, instead, just another disaster inherited from the previous eight years, much like the Great Recession or the various mismanaged military engagements.

Until President Obama makes a mistake or acts against the interests of the nation, he deserves the respect that his office demands. No-one should be asking for the President of the United States to produce impossible results, nor should they ever forget the root cause of the problem. It’s shameful to see some of the most intelligent people in politics put on a show for the Gulf Coast’s oil crisis, and for President Obama to stoop so low would be not only embarrassing, but debasing.

From Kyle Brady…

Kyle can be found on his blog, on Facebook, via email, or on Twitter.