CBS News - "GOP Blocks Oil Spill Liability Bill" - First Wall Street, Now Oil Companies

[TomCADem]

It is just amazing that even in the midst of an environmental catastrophe, Republicans can still defend the oil companies, and insist that the public bear the costs of such disasters even though they get no share of oil company profits. The Republicans have countered with a bill raising the cap to $150 million.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20005333-503544.html

Republicans for the second time blocked legislation that would increase oil companies' liability for oil spill damages, setting off criticism from Democrats seeking to make BP pay for the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) on Tuesday blocked a bill Democrats have put forward to raise the liability cap from $75 million to $10 billion. He said on the Senate floor he agrees the cap should be raised, but the Senate should "wait and see where the cap should be."

"If you have it too high you are going to be singling out BP and the other four largest majors and the nationalized companies, such as China and Venezuela, and shutting out the independent producers," he said. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) blocked the legislation last week.

President Obama released a statement saying he is disappointed by the Republicans' objections. "This maneuver threatens to leave taxpayers, rather than the oil companies, on the hook for future disasters like the BP oil spill," he said. "I urge the Senate Republicans to stop playing special interest politics and join in a bipartisan effort to protect taxpayers and demand accountability from the oil companies."

[sakabatou]

1. New Repub slogan: "We don't give a s*&^ about you or the planet."

[sam sarrha]

35. or give a crap for the people on it..!! as long as they get their Campaign Contributions,.. formerly

known as BRIBES.!!

[Rosa Luxemburg]

2. I expect this thread will sink to the bottom of DU?

This is an extremely important post. I guess DUers are more angry with President Obama than the GOP?

[tavalon]

12. If it does, it's a timing problem

It was posted late in the evening on a Saturday. Some of us nightshifters sift through around this time and rec and reply to many a thread of this great import. And I'll kick it one more time before I go to bed but that's just two hours. Of course, that's 8am on the east coast which is a plus, but it's a Sunday which is a minus.

That's one of the reasons I don't complain when important things like this get brought up more than once. Sometimes, just by circumstance, these threads don't get as many eyes as they should.

I think most people here are angrier with the GOP than with Obama, it just hurts more when you get dumped on by someone perceived to be a friend than someone you know to be an enemy.

[GoCubsGo]

31. Well, here's giving it a kick up... n/t

[bjobotts]

41. 1st they came for the rain forest, then the top soil, ozone and climate,Now the oceans

self serving greed that only "our" government is big enough to stop...you know...we the people government. There should no longer be a Blackwater/KBR/NP/Exon Mobile etc or AIG/Goldman/Sachs and wall street's monkeys in congress.

We are watching them destroy our nation and our planet...literally while our gov sets up investigative commissions on corporate TV news shows owned by these same culprits. This is our nation not wall street bankers or the other monopolies. Vote all republicans out and their conserva-dem protectors.

[leftstreet]

3. If only the Democrats had the majority

:cry:

[bluestateguy]

4. The majority isn't enough anymore

Not since the flagrant abuse of the filibuster, which traces its origins back to the Clinton years.

Actually even 60 is probably still not enough. You probably need more like 63 or 65 seats, so as to disempower every Senator from having an effective veto over a cloture vote. In other words, you need 60 plus a little padding.

[DeSwiss]

8. Rules can be changed by simple majority. n/t

[andym]

28. Only at the beginning of a congress (once every 2 years)

next time for a change in the rules by a simple majority is Jan 2011.

[DeSwiss]

36. Au contraire.

The issue of changing rules, and when and how often those rules can be changed is not a mandate found within the Constitution but is rather itself only another rule.

Just like the rule that created the U.S. Senate filibuster "rule."

Procedure

Article I, Section 5 of the United States Constitution specifies that it is up to each chamber to determine internal rules of operation for any matter not already specified in the Constitution or previously prescribed by law. In the House of Representatives, a Rules Committee sets rules for each measure that is up for debate. The Senate abides by a set of Standing Rules.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Congress#Procedure

Saying that rules can't be changed but every two years is a "rule" not a law nor is it a Constitutional provision -- and therefore does not have the force nor effect of a law.

All filibusters do is to give political cover for asshats who're too afraid to admit that their Republicans at-heart:

[DeSwiss]

7. +1

[tavalon]

13. LOL

Now there's an example of where the actors (Washington politicians) all knew their lines and then we fucked it up by switching their places. The Republicans were supposed to be the majority that ran roughshod over, well, everything and the Democrats were the ones wringing their hands and begging us to sign their petitions and having us come to their meetings held in basements because the Republicans wouldn't let them hold them anywhere else and so on and so on.

So, rather than adjusting to their new roles, both sides are still using the same lines but it looks ludicrous out here. Of course, inside the beltway, they have no idea just how ludicrous it looks and hell, they probably don't care.

[leftstreet]

27. Best explanation ever

:thumbsup:

So true.

And they all manage to be genuinely surprised at how ludicrous it looks to us

[tavalon]

34. That Beltway Bubble is really thick

[Rectangle]

21. No, No No!!! Remember, we have to keep our powder dry!!!

:sarcasm: :eyes:

[TomCADem]

26. WaPo - "How the filibuster destroys accountability" - Republicans Get A Free Pass Again

I think the obvious party that is at fault is the Republicans for raising a record number of filibusters. Yet, liberals blame the Democrats, not the Republicans, for their abuse of the filibuster. Of course, the knee jerk reaction is to eliminate it. Of course, this means that the next time you have a Republican President and a Republican senate, you can say hello to Supreme Court Justice John Yoo.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/05/how_the_filibuster_destroys_ac.html

In the absence of the filibuster, majorities would still fall short of what the public asks of them. A $900 billion stimulus is better than a $700 billion stimulus, but it's still not sufficient. And they'd have to go and defend their record before the voters. But in the presence of the filibuster, the majority is really defending -- and owning -- the deal demanded by three or four Republicans, even as the rest of the Republican Party is attacking that deal.

And that's why it destroys accountability: Instead of the majority defending its actions, the majority has to defend the product of a compromise with a small group of minority senators who held the keys to the filibuster. And that situation is even crazier when you're dealing with House elections, where the majority has to run on deals that they didn't even cut. You can spend your days trying to explain this twisted system to people who want help rather than a tutorial on congressional procedure, but as Obey says, that's a crummy way to spend your days

[Kablooie]

5. Yeah! Let the US taxpayers pay for it. Not BP! And let's cut BP taxes!! Yeah!

Hell, BP is not even an American company.
The profits all go to the UK!

[TomCADem]

17. Heck, According To Rand Paul, It Is Un-American Of Obama To Criticize British Petroleum

Because as Rand Paul explained, accidents happen.

[TheKentuckian]

6. Typical but they'll be forced to fold that little pup tent as long as not too many

corporate Democrats don't jump the fence.

Our turncoats, the jacked up regulatory system, and Big Oil are the bigger fish. The pukes are just getting into watering down position.

[Bryn]

9. Can Obama do something?

He's the Boss. Nancy Pelosi? We've got to do something to stop the republican idiots! Doh!

[seabeyond]

22. i was gonna say, with finger pointing to obama on all things.... damnit obama

why are you in bed with the oil company, obviously his fault the repugs voted as they did and guess what

here you are.

[FrenchieCat]

10. It's Obama's fault!

[cali]

14. stop being so frantic

in your defense of the President. Your comment doesn't really make any sense.

[seabeyond]

24. lol, i was gonna say the same thing and look above you.... a poster doing exactly that. nt

[Bryn]

29. ???? Where in my post did I blame Obama?

What finger-pointing? What I meant is that all Obama could do is just veto any bad bill and not to let it pass. I know he's trying his best, but those Republicans won't vote for the good of Americans because they just like to play politican games with democrats. I am sick and tired of it. If democrats vote no, they'd vote yes and if democrats vote yes, they'd vote no. Even Obama could see through their games. He had said once that things that Republicans wanted so when democrats agreed, republicans changed their mind to vote otherwise. Obama knows what they're doing.

[tavalon]

11. Let's make sure they say it on tape

Nice little soundbites for commercials. This year, the Dems need to fuck being polite or fair. If you aren't part of the solution, you need to be gone.

[Karenina]

15. . .

[madokie]

16. I really do think we Oklahomans need to check our electronic vote counting machines

[Parker CA]

18. And then they'll complain when taxes are raised to pay for BP's problem. Total BS.

[lunasun]

44. you betcha!

[felinetta]

19. This story should be the top news item for months! Repigs can't keep doing this without

major daily coverage.

[felinetta]

20. The good news is that this is on CBS. Hopefully they will continue to do

stories on 60 Minutes.  Don't forget they were told they
couldn't be in the Gulf to film.

[stubtoe]

23. Repubs are so obviously bought and paid for.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

25. Reid threatened to make them filibuster the finance bill. why not do the same thing here?

He has shown they can force a filibuster and they have the public on their side. There is no excuse as far as I can see.

[Bryn]

30. K&R

Keep this going so more can see OP.

[Blue_Tires]

32. i hope the "blame obama" crowd in GD saved some outrage for this story

[Rosa Luxemburg]

37. largely ignored it seems?

[scentopine]

33. let them drown in their own filth. I refuse to go down without a fight. -nt

[TomCADem]

39. Agree, They Need To Bring This Bill Up Again and Again Like Financial Reform Bill

Particularly since 76 percent of all oil and gas contributions are now going to the GOP. Call them out on it,

[ArcticFox]

38. "independent producers"

What is this shit? Are they saying I should be able to start up a company for ten thousand dollars and drill in the ocean?

Haven't any of these pieces of shit ever heard of starting small?

Do we seriuosly want some mom and pop outfit doing off-shore drilling?

If the value of your company isn't enough to finance a cleanup, you shouldn't be drilling in the first place.

The federal government should seize BP's assets and liquidate them to the extent necessary to pay every cent of cleanup and damage that oil causes.

The cap should be the value of the company doing the drilling (i.e., no cap at all).

[Oldtimeralso]

40. Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and his fellow Senate Rethugs...

give a new meaning to IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)

Diarrhea of the mouth

Constipation of the brain

[Scurrilous]

42. Kick

:kick:

[nadinbrzezinski]

43. And this is the REAL US Politics

quick, why was the original limit 75 m? Ask Republicans and one Ronald Reagan

Why is it that the US does not have the capacity to respond at a FEDERAL LEVEL to this crap the way it once did? See above.

By the way, the POTUS is at fault crowd better wake up. As you are blaming the response, which you do not bother to actually like research and stuff... this is what they are truly fighting in DC... the corporatist party. Yes our centrist are bad, but they are part of the choir boys club compared to Inhofe and crowd.O

[inna]

45. The system is rigged. How we the people allow this is absolutely incomprehensible.

[pauldg0]

46. Treason?

Jerk-offs!!!