From Time:
What happens when you're a small government, pro-business conservative and your state gets pummeled by one of the worst man made disasters ever – not five years after getting pummeled by one of the worst natural disasters (Hurricane Katrina)? If you're Louisiana Senator David Vitter, you double down on offshore drilling and push for a liability cap for BP.
Doubling down on drilling is not particularly surprising. Much of Louisiana's much-needed revenue comes from off-shore drilling leases. “By the same token, after every plane crash, you and I should both oppose plane travel,” Vitter quipped on Sunday to CNN's Candy Crowley. “I don't think that is rational.” Even Vitter's Democratic challenger, Rep. Charlie Melancon, reiterated his support for expanded drilling in the wake of the disaster.
But it's Vitter's early support of a liability cap – he introduced legislation that he promoted in last weekend's weekly GOP radio address – that's landing the son of a Chevron petroleum engineer in trouble. Local and national Democrats have been pounding Vitter for seeking to limit the amount of legal damages BP would be responsible for to the last four quarters of profit. “Unlike Republicans, Democrats are not going to protect BP – and given their track record, we are certainly not going to rely on BP's word as the only thing ensuring that taxpayers are not left on the hook to pay for the disaster they caused,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said in a statement.
Who does Vitter work for? Who pays Vitter's salary? Why we do. Vitter leads Charlie Melancon by a large margin in the polls for the senate seat in which Melancon is the Blue Dog Democrat challenger.
That Vitter was on the phone list of the DC madam seems to have hurt his popularity very little here in Louisiana, the land of good church-going folks, but perhaps his support of limiting BP's liability for the oil gusher will cause folks to think again about their choice for senator.
