As we continue to watch the horror unfold before our eyes in the Louisiana region of the Gulf of Oil, thanks to decades of the federal government's efforts to deregulate the corporate sector, another form of political terror and racism continues to whisper rather loudly from the extreme right.
Rand Paul (R-KY), the latest rising star of the GOP, asserts it is un-American for the children of undocumented workers, born right here in the U.S. of A. are American citizens.
Rand Paul must have reading the by-laws for the KKK because he sure as hell did not consult the U.S. Constitution before opening his mouth.
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Rand Paul embodies the anti-government, small government libertarian agenda.
So, what would small government or no government mean for the U.S.?
Governor Rick Perry says he hates big government and yet he happily took the big bucks the feds offered to the state of Texas as part of a national stimulus package to jump start the busted economy. Perry greedily grabbed the stimulus money to help mitigate his budget shortfall. This shortfall, by the way, is of Governor Perry's own making.
Michele Bachmann (R-MN) is also passionately anti-government and yet she asked why the feds hadn't commandeered boats and sent them to the Gulf to deal with the oil plume that BP CEO Tony Hayward said did not exist.
In times of crisis Republicans seem to have a thing for socialist intervention.
Sarah Palin, another Republican who worships small government pulled a Rush Limbaugh by saying environmentalists are responsible for the leak.
Republicans will blame the disaster on anyone except BP.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal also hates big government and yet he is understandably begging the feds to do all possible to help stop the hemorrhaging of oil from BP's blown up rig. There is no doubt whatsoever that BP's oil volcano is devastating for the south Louisiana coast.
Louisiana Parish leaders along the Gulf Coast are also begging the feds for help and some are more than a little angry that the federal government has not done more to make BP stop a leak it cannot seem to stop. So far, Top Kill and engineering attempts to plug the leak have failed. The leak remains out of control and it may remain this way until August.
Both governors Perry and Jindal and most of the Louisiana Parish leaders are Republicans, all of whom are supposed to prefer a small government over a big one. But Bobby Jindal talks out of both sides of his mouth when discussing the role of the federal government.
"When government grows too big, it doesn't do its core functions properly," he said. "Absolutely, I believe in a limited government that is effective and competent in what it does. We need federal government exactly -- we need our federal government exactly for this kind of crisis."
One has to ask the governors of the Gulf states where all were in local and state preparedness knowing that BP was doing the risky business of deep water drilling in their backyards. Given the size of the ports of Houston and New Orleans, there are also serious Homeland Security issues in this region. How well prepared are we for potential terrorist attacks in Texas and Louisiana? Are the feds going to have to do all of the heavy lifting if the worst of the worst happens?
What are we doing here in Texas to mitigate any ramifications of the leak that is destroying the LA coast? What if it were to creep our way? Given Rick Perry's blind support for BP and all of its efforts I do not have very high hopes for our side of the Gulf should the gusher make its way over here.
Hopefully a category 4 or 5 hurricane won't come our way this year. And if one does stop by, who is going to clean up the oil spewed all over the area's homes, businesses and property? BP? FEMA? The state of Texas? The state of Louisiana? Insurance companies will say they don't cover oil damage.
And so my question remains. If we did not have the current federal system, who would Governor Jindal and his Parish leaders call for help? BP obviously could care less about the people of Louisiana and others along the Gulf Coast that will be impacted by the oil leak. After the press grows bored with the story and after it packs up and leaves the scene, just watch what happens between BP and those effected by the devastation of their local economies. BP will unleash its corporate lawyers onto the scene. We all know what will happen next if the feds do not intervene on behalf of the people.
In this regard folks in Louisiana should take a shred of comfort in knowing that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and two of his deputies are headed to New Orleans today to meet with state and federal prosecutors.
So, what would Rick Perry, Bobby Jindal and Rand Paul cut from the federal government? The Dept. of Interior? Homeland Security? FEMA? The EPA (you betcha they would). The State Dept.? Border patrol? ICE? The Social Security Administration (that my friends is numero uno on the GOP to kill list). HHMS? Seriously, what would the Republican Party cut from the federal government? In case our revered red state governors and politicians did not know the federal government is one huge employer. The client base of most of the private sector in the D.C. metro area is comprised of government agencies. Where do companies like Halliburton and get their biggest contracts? The federal government.
How would we survive as a nation without some or any of the above federal agencies? Maybe Republicans should take a field trip to Somalia to find out.
MSNBC's Rachel Maddow recently had an interview with NBC's foreign correspondent Richard Engle. Mr. Engle is well-known for going into war zones and other dangerous areas where few journalists will venture. He had recently visited the lawless country of Somalia. According to Engle when something bad happens, like if one is in a car accident, there is simply no one to call for help. There is no police. Nor is there a fire department. There are no ambulances. If a foreigner is kidnapped no one will know about it. No one will look. There is no one to call. Help is never on the way. Everyone is on their own.
The link to the interview is here. Scroll half way down to read the contents of Engle's fascinating story.
Is this the Republican's long term dream for the United States? A purely libertarian regime dominated by the likes of BP, Goldman Sachs and Halliburton along with Dick Cheney's agenda of a powerful military/industrial complex with its endless oil wars?
Fortunately most Americans don't want to go down this road to hell. Speaking of hell, here is an update on BP's inability to stop the oil gusher.
