The Gulf Coast Spill and Sarah Palin Are Both Toxic

On April 3, 2010, before I began writing for Huffington Post, I published an article on my personal blog entitled Palin Prefers Homilies to Homework – “Drill Baby Drill”.  This post was written two and one half weeks before the tragic explosion in the Gulf Coast on April 21, 2010.  The impetus for the post was the plan unveiled by Barack Obama for additional offshore drilling and Palin’s criticism of that plan.  Throughout the 2008 campaign Palin and McCain advocated the need for more off-shore drilling, by saying, “drill baby drill”. Even when the President indicated that he would consider the authorization of additional drilling, after environmental studies had been conducted, Palin was still critical.  Let me repeat, Palin was critical of the President’s concern for the environment.  At that time Palin suggested by her comments that Obama’s plan was a joke, stating, “…Delays or major restrictions in accessing these resources for environmentally responsible development are not in the national interest…” Now the ever mercurial Palin is attempting to espouse support and concern for the environment, parading around like a card carrying member of Greenpeace.

On April 30, 2010, Palin once again took to her Facebook to express concern for the Gulf Coast. It is as if Palin hopes we have all forgotten her callous attitude and derision of Obama with her slogan, “stall baby stall”. Yet, on her post Palin wrote, “Actions must be taken to increase oversight to prevent future accidents.  Government can and must play an appropriate role here…” It is quite a change from the usual, anti-government rhetoric generally spewed by Palin, though certainly within the same vein of Palin’s characteristic superficiality.

In my April 3^rd post, I quoted Richard Feinberg from Alaska, who was an oil and gas analyst, and who consulted with Palin’s administration, before she resigned as Governor, in both 2007 and 2008. Mr. Feinberg prophetically declared, “Based upon my first-hand experience, I can tell you that Sarah Palin is misinforming the public on ACES (Alaska Clear and Equitable Share-one of three pieces of legislation for which she takes credit) as she does many other issues…When it comes to the craft of governance, Palin exhibits a superficiality that I find frightening.  She tends to prefer homilies to homework and all too often over-simplifies or distorts issues.”

It certainly seems that Palin is once again exhibiting vapid and insincere approach.         We probably won’t know for years the extent of the damage caused to the economy and to the fish, birds, and animals in the Gulf Coast.  In the Exxon Valdez spill, scientists estimated that some shoreline habitats might take up to 30 years to recover. The Gulf Coast will probably surpass the environmental devastation of Exxon Valdez.  Even if you have no regard for the environmental impact of this massive spill, consider its economic impact.  Exxon spent an estimated $2 billion dollars in an attempt to clean up of the Exxon Valdez disaster, and another one billion dollars to settle related civil and criminal charges. In that disaster, companies’ dependant upon the local marine population went bankrupt.  Other economic effects included loss of recreational sports, fisheries, and reduced tourism. There is no reason to believe that the Gulf Coast spill will have any less devastating economic effects.  Moreover, the recent spill emphasizes the urgency of developing alternative sources of energy, and the need to lessen our dependence on oil, from any source.

If someone says they “like Sarah Palin”, or if they think the RNC is looking out for what is best for America, remind them that they were the ones that coined the phrases “drill baby drill,” and “stall baby stall.” Remind them that when Barack Obama suggested we should consider the environmental risks inherent in off-shore drilling, it was Sarah Palin who suggested that it was not in our national interest to consider the environmental impact of such drilling.  Both Sarah Palin, and the spill in the Gulf Coast, are toxic to the United States of America.  Surely our memories are vibrant enough to remember those memorable words uttered just weeks ago by Sarah Palin.  She is not a politician.  She is no longer the Vice- Presidential Candidate.  She is just a pretty lady who will say or do anything to allow her to continue to rake in $100,000 per speech, fly in private jets, stay in luxury hotels, and entice people to donate millions of dollars to her PAC.  The citizens of this country, Republicans, Democrats, and Independents deserve better.