Conservatives seek gov't solutions after oil spill [View All]

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http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hB4MkDFpEq9b5qRF9F-fUtyQs5yQD9G35UBG1

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS (AP) – 4 hours ago

Ben Brooks, a lawyer and Republican state senator from coastal Alabama, says he's no fan of big government but he expects an aggressive federal response as a gunky oil spill threatens the Gulf of Mexico.

"There's nothing inherently contradictory in saying we believe in smaller government and demanding that the government protect public safety," Brooks said.

All along the Gulf Coast, where the tea party thrives and "socialism" is a common description for any government program, conservatives who usually denounce federal activism suddenly are clamoring for it.

Take Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican elected in 2007 when Democrat Kathleen Blanco opted not to seek re-election after she was widely panned for a bumbling response to Hurricane Katrina two years earlier. snip

Jindal, a possible 2012 presidential candidate, has demanded a stronger response from the Obama administration, accusing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of dragging its feet in approving Louisiana's plans for protective berms — a plan that took three weeks to approve. snip

Jindal is a fiscal conservative who made headlines last year by rejecting some federal stimulus money, then distributing other stimulus funds by handing out oversized cardboard checks to local officials.

Louisiana State University political science professor Kirby Goidel said Jindal's call for larger federal involvement in the oil spill management contradicts the governor's usual persona.