Florida Senator Flip-Flops (Again) on Offshore Drilling

In the tragic aftermath of last April’s catastrophic BP oil spill, advocates of a sane national energy policy could take hope that the days of reckless calls for expanded offshore oil drilling might soon be a thing of the past. Against the horrendous images and stories emerging from the Gulf, it became hard to justify the expansion of an industry that was already too big to regulate, and the ranks offshore-drilling-friendly politicians started to thin a little. Indeed, just months after a decision to end a long-standing moratorium on drilling in certain coastal areas, the Obama administration reversed itself and has yet to look back.

Unfortunately, it now appears that the political class's stances on offshore oil drilling can be as vulnerable to oil-price volatility as consumers’ pocketbooks, and there are signs that whatever sanity had crept into the political sphere vis-à-vis offshore drilling may have started a gradual retreat.

Perhaps no politician better exemplifies such offshore-oil flip-flopping than Florida state Senate President Mike Haridopolos. Like President Obama prior to the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe, Haridopolos was a big proponent of terminating time-honored bans on drilling in areas such as Flordia’s outer-continental shelf. Under his leadership, the Florida senate had been moving towards ending a state moratorium on drilling in waters within ten miles of the state’s beaches.

But, also like Obama, Haridopolus quickly changed his tune as soon as crude started threatening his state’s beautiful beaches. In an interview following the spill, Haridopolos characterized the tragedy as a “game changer” on the issue of new offshore drilling and vowed to “turn the page” toward a cleaner energy future.

Now, amazingly, Haridopolos has reversed himself yet again, saying in a recent video interview that “America needs to lead by example on energy production and it starts with drilling in places like ANWR, let alone the Gulf of Mexico.”

So what has changed since last year to merit Haridopolos’ renewed call for offshore drilling? Has Congress passed legislation to ensure safer industry practices? No. Have oil companies discovered new oil reserves underneath protected waters that are substantial enough to give America a fighting chance of reducing its dependence on imported oil? No.

The simple truth is that Haridopolos’ new cost-benefit analysis of offshore drilling has nothing to do with economics and everything to do with politics. According to his calculations, pain at the pump means political dividends to be had from renewed drill-baby-drill rhetoric, and he is clearly hoping to cash in.

Fortunately, in the wake of the BP spill, groups like Save our Shores Florida are stronger and more determined than ever to protect our vulnerable coastal areas from the machinations of cynical politicians. Help them show Senator Haridopolos the folly of his calculations by signing the petition to protect Florida’s beaches from drilling.

Photo Credit: DVIDSHUB via Flickr