Sen. Lamar Alexander Advocates A Government Takeover Of BP

[G_j]

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/05/23/lamar-bp-takeover/

Sen. Lamar Alexander Advocates A Government Takeover Of BP

The oil spill that resulted from a British Petroleum rig exploding in the Gulf of Mexico is still continuing unabated, and many scientists are now saying that BP and the Obama administration are downplaying the amount of oil that is gushing into the water. The joint BP-federal command has been relying on an estimate from NOAA scientists that the oil rate was increasing by 210,000 gallons (5000 barrels) a day, but independent scientists estimate that the flow rate is at least 850,000 gallons a day.

This week, a flurry of environmental organizations, members of Congress, and local officials in the states affected by the spill called for the federal government to take over the response effort from BP. “This is an all-hands-on-deck crisis, and we need to use every asset the U.S. has, including the Defense Department and all of its most sophisticated technology,” said Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA).

Today, on CBS’ Face the Nation, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) — who spends a lot of his time fearmongering about various government takeovers — seemed to advocate that the government simply take over BP entirely:

Alexander: There’s one thing could do. Under the law, they could fire BP and take it over. But the truth is the federal government probably doesn’t have the capacity to do that. <...>

Q: But would you favor taking over BP if that became necessary?

Alexander: Sure, that’s up to the President to decide…Under the law the federal government can take it over if they choose. And I understand why they might not choose, but that option exists.

Watch it:

[ladjf]

1. Damn. I alway thought Alexander was a wimp. nt

[sandnsea]

2. Sounds pretty flip-floppy to me

They could fire BP.. but the government doesn't have the capacity to do that... the government can take it over.. I understand why they might not.. but that option exists.

Huh?

Using this to bash Obama. Just sad.

[pinto]

3. Key point - "the federal government doesn't have the capacity".

Federal intervention may be better allocated in increased, or added, involvement from EPA/FEMA/DOD/Nat'l Guard, etc. in oversight, compliance, accountability, communications, coordination and mitigation.

:shrug:

[Cleita]

6. Or as my dad would have said back in the forties,

"Send in the Marines."

[IndianaJoe]

4. Advocate away. It'll never happen. n/t

[Cleita]

5. "Under the law the federal government can take it over if they choose."

Interesting. I guess it's up to us the unwashed masses to make him consider this option, either that or convince us that it's not a good idea.

[Bitwit1234]

7. Well Now...

So some things it is OK for the government to "take over" and some they can't. I suppose only the ones the republicans and Libertarians want them to I guess.

[SidDithers]

8. If Lamar Alexander is for it, it's automatically a bad idea...nt

Sid

[subsuelo]

11. He's probably not really for it. n/t

[TampaAnimus2010]

9. What makes you think the government is immune to screw ups?

Theres one frame of thought that say BP at least has a vested interest in saving all that oil from being wasted so they can sell it... What vested interest does politicians have with it beyond grandstanding and using it to get elected? They never waste a good crises... on either side.

[struggle4progress]

10. Alexander is motivated by two considerations:

(1) He wants to pass the buck from BP to the Feds. If the Feds take over, BP is really totally off the hook
(2) He wants to ramp up the anti-Obama rhetoric. If the Feds take over, the Publicans have a nice song ready to sing, with the chorus "We Blame Obama"

[donco6]

12. And all the while, wave after wave after wave of oily sludge is hitting the coast.

But heaven's, by all means, let's dither over whether it's good or bad for Obama.

[TomCADem]

13. A Takeover Is Fine, But How Does This Stop The Spill?

The fact of the matter is that most of the technology used to handle oil well leaks are privately owned. I am not aware of a federal oil well leak response agency. Maybe we need one. But, until then, a government takeover does not stop the leak, though it may help pay for the damages.

[Panorama]

14. I'm not sure he was really advocating for it. n/t

[G_j]

15. that wasn't clear to me either

though I went with the headline.

welcome to DU!

[4_TN_TITANS]

16. Don't trust that snake any further than you can throw him.

Eventhough he's saying this now, he'd be the first to knife Obama in the back if he actually did it.