This morning, executives including BP’s chairman Lamar McKay, Transocean CEO Steve Newman, and Halliburton’s Timothy Probert appeared before a hearing in the House Energy and Commerce Committee to dodge responsibility for their respective roles in the Deepwater Horizon Gulf Coast oil spill. About an hour before the investigation began, however, House Republicans gathered a few blocks away for an “oil and gas breakfast” fundraiser with the oil and gas industry to benefit Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX).
As ridiculous as it might seem to you and me, do we honestly expect that they would forgo this event? After all, according to the NBC Wall Street Journal poll:
Despite the spill, 60 percent say they support allowing for more drilling off U.S. coasts, and 53 percent believe that offshore drilling’s potential economic benefits outweigh its potential harm to the environment.
Hey, Americans support all of this despite the erupting tragedy in the Gulf. As long as this is the case, Republicans -- 28 percent of whom want to drill because of the disaster -- will continue to attend these kinds of events. If an enormous oil spill and a global climate crisis won't change minds, I'm feeling kind of hopeless about the effort.
Adding... Meanwhile, via Digby, here's Mary Landrieu shamelessly defending the oil industry (timecode 3:20):
But you know, there's very little political motive to change.