Oil Spills Into US Rep. Race

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by Paul Bass | Jun 2, 2010 4:01 pm

(5) Comments | Commenting has been closed | E-mail the Author

Posted to: Politics, Campaign 2010

Paul Bass File Photo The political currents of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill washed up on New Haven’s shores Monday, as candidates for U.S. Congress injected the issue into their campaigns.

U.S. Rep Rosa DeLauro (D-3) (pictured) issued a statement “applauding” the Obama Administration for announcing it might pursue legal action against BP executives for their role in the oil spill, the largest in U.S. history.

DeLauro also cited her record to seek to align herself with sentiment critical of BP: her cosponsorship of a current bill to “to lift
the cap on BP’s liability for the Gulf of Mexico disaster from $75 million to $10 billion”; and her prior introduction of a proposed 50 percent tax on major companies’ crude oil profits of over $50 a barrel.

“I remain deeply concerned over the tragedy that is unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico and its impact on local citizens and on the region’s delicate ecosystem,” the ten-term incumbent Democrat stated in the release. “I will be working with my colleagues in Congress to make certain that those who are responsible for this disaster will be held accountable.”

DeLauro’s Republican challenger, meanwhile, released a statement blasting the incumbent for alleged family ties to BP.

The candidate, Jerry Labriola (pictured), called on DeLauro “to explain why she hasn’t disclosed her husband’s lucrative relationship with the company behind the largest environmental disaster in American history.

Labriola claimed that the polling firm run by DeLauro’s husband, Stanley Greenberg, “represents” BP.

“Stan Greenberg is entitled to make a living, but where is the line?” Labriola is quoted as saying. “One has to ask: does the money Stan Greenberg makes conflict with his wife’s ability to represent the people of the 3rd Congressional District and her claims on her website?”

DeLauro’s campaign responded that Stanley Greenberg’s firm, Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, in fact does not “currently” represent BP.

DeLauro campaign spokesman Chuck Swirsky said in response to a question that he doesn’t know if Greenberg has represented BP in the past.

Howard Briskin, the chief operating officer of Greenberg’s firm, said Wednesday that BP was a client for “probably” ten years. The firm offered BP “reputational and brand management.”

Briskin said the firm has not represented BP since last fall. “Since then, we have nothing,” he said.

That’s enough to raise questions, argued Labriola’s campaign manager, Tanya Bachand.

Greenberg’s firm helped “greenwash” BP’s image, she said in a conversation Wednesday.

“Listen. We’re capitalists. You go and make money. We don’t have any particular issue with that,” Bachand said.

But “BP’s image certainly is environmentally friendly. This very rig got a safety award. That begs the question” about greenwashing.

Meanwhile, the DeLauro release sought to turn the bedfellows argument back on Labriola. It quotes campaign spokesman Churck Swirsky as noting that Labriola’s campaign manager, Tanya Bachand, has served as statewide coordinator for the Tea Party “and presumably favors a ‘drill, baby, drill’ position on offshore oil.”

Bachand responded that the Tea Party favors “an all of the above approach” on energy: wind, solar, and “including drilling, yes… Energy independence is a national security issue.”

Comments

posted by: Alphonse Credenza on June 2, 2010 4:35pm

Remember—DeLauro toes the Obama line very strictly. She would not come out against the administration’s decision to hold Khalid Sheik Mohammed’s trial in Manhattan—she excused it and supported it. The only government function that should be held in Manhattan regarding that awful excuse for a human being is his execution—which is what Americans would virtually all agree upon. DeLauro is a typical ultra Democratic follower who represents Obama more than she does her electors, and she must be defeated next term.

posted by: john on June 2, 2010 7:28pm

Ms. Bachand (mouthpiece for Mr. Lippy)—don’t tread on my idiom: to “beg the question” has nothing to do with what you think it does. My vote goes to DeLauro, and yes, this is a legitimate concern.

http://begthequestion.info/

posted by: East Rocker on June 3, 2010 7:23am

My question is: Why a $10 billion limit on liability? Why shouldn’t everyone who is damaged receive everything they are entitled to from the shareholders of BP? If an oil company can’t afford the risk of the activities they engage in, then they should not be engaging in them. Why should the damaged parties bear the burden?

posted by: Drosophila on the Wall on June 3, 2010 10:46am

I believe that Ms. Bachand is misusing the phrase “begs the question.” You can’t just say that it begs the question and then not ask a question. There is a good reason for this. While she is clearly implying that this casts doubts about whether or not Rosa Delauro can be trusted to honestly represent the American people against a company with which her husband has done business, it does not actually beg that question unless you ask it, and this manner of speaking on her behalf is just political hackery in order to besmirch her opponent—an opportunistic, low move.

Moreover, I don’t think she’s right about what the real question should be. The fact that Mr. Greenberg’s company once worked with BP (which is a massive international organization that does business with a huge swath of the private sector, most of which wasn’t involved in this accident in any way) is not really the problem if the rig that broke recently got a safety award. I doubt that any “greenwashing” by a polling company would be good at fooling regulators investigating the platform—the “greenwashing” she’s talking about it mostly TV advertising. The real issue is that our regulation system for this SUCKS—we’re handing out awards for what was, in retrospect, terrible equipment used in a dangerous manner. If you want to attack a sitting congresswoman, the honest way to do it here is to call for better regulation. Don’t hold your breath for Labriola or any of his hacks to actually say something useful like that.

posted by: Kenneth on June 24, 2010 2:00am

We can only hope BPwill learn from their mistakes but at what cost, BP must be responsible enough when it comes to the necessary precautionary and safety measure. Hopefully it won’t happen again as it created a major devastation to the marine ecosystem, likewise most businesses such as restaurant that serves seafood got also a decline in their sales. With the incidence that happened I wish that they would initiate for the clean up since they are the one accountable for this oil spill mess.

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