Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana is a conservative politician who staunchly opposes the interference of "big government." You might recall him saying, during the Republican party's response to President Obama's State of the Union speech in 2009 that "The strength of America is to be found in the compassionate hearts and the enterprising spirit of our citizens."What a difference a disaster makes! Now -- post the BP environmental catastrophe -- Governor Jindal is saying that big government isn't doing enough interfering in his state. "It is clear we don't have the resources we need to protect our coast. The disjointed effort to date has often meant too little, too late."
I guess when the shit hits the fan, compassionate hearts get covered in it, too.
AS E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post said, "'Deregulation' is wonderful until we discover what happens when regulations aren't issued or enforced. Everyone is a capitalist until a private company blunders. Then everyone starts talking like a socialist, presuming that the government can put things right because they see it as being just as big and powerful as its tea party critics claim. But the truth is that we have disempowered government and handed vast responsibilities over to a private sector that will never see protecting the public interest as its primary task. The sludge in the Gulf is, finally, the product of our own contradictions."
Well said.
