New Jersey Democrats are having a shit fit over today’s bombshell from Obama that he’s allowing drilling off the east coast and in the gulf of Mexico.
The lopsided screw-the-east coast, protect-the-west coast bias of the Drill Baby Drill decision hasn’t gone unnoticed by the politicians who happen to have their constituents living along the coast and playing in the water.
U.S. Senators Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg blasted the scheme.
"It’s fundamentally wrong as an energy policy when we can drive toward renewable energy sources. I think the administration is wrong on this and they are going to have an adversary,"
Said Menendez.
Menendez also blasted Obama for caving on nuclear energy and clean-coal technology, calling it part of a misguided trade-off designed to win GOP support for developing legislation that would try to cap greenhouse emissions, according to the Star Ledger.
"I think it’s an effort to bring Republicans on board with broader climate change legislation and I think it’s a dangerous plan. ... This is a reversal of where the president has been."
Menendez also noted Obama had campaigned against offshore drilling in 2008 (but hey, to be fair, that was just a campaign promise. Those are made to be broken, and break them Obama has.)
Frank Lautenberg is also pissed.
"Drilling off the Virginia coast would endanger many of New Jersey’s beaches and vibrant coastal economies."
Lautenberg said.
Even NJ’s popular governor, Chris Christie, who shockingly kicked "Goldman" Jon Corzine out on his ass last year in spite of Obama practically living in the state to campaign for him, and who is scoring big points going after the state’s much-hated and sociopathic teachers’ union, the NJEA, jumped his fat arse into the fracas. Said Christie:
"I oppose the idea of drilling off the coast of New Jersey. New Jersey’s coastline is one of our economic engines and I would have to be really convinced of both the economic viability and environmental safety of oil and gas exploration off our coast. At this point, I’m not convinced of either."
Ouch. Pass the fries.
Drill Obamaby Drill was also unsurprisingly drilled by a litany of environmental groups, including the New Jersey chapter of Audubon, the Sierra Club, Clean Ocean Action, Environment New Jersey, and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
On a positive note for Obama though, his Drill Baby Drill plan was endorsed by the American Chemistry Council, the National Ocean Industries Association, and the New Jersey Petroleum Council.
Awesome!