The Slippery Slope or Knee Jerk Reaction

Is the Jerk in this case our own federal liberal opposition leader, Michael Ignatieff? Will we continue to slide down the slippery slope of dependency on oil, acknowledge that oil is what makes the world go around, and pursue the policy of importing and exporting the stuff until we run out, or at least until we find alternative energy sources, or will we pretend to be appalled at the growing slick in the Gulf of Mexico and enact 1972 legislation that bans oil tankers from plying the treacherous yet sensitive Northwest Coast?
Mr. Ignatieff, recently announced brushing off an old Pierre Trudeau moratorium banning tanker traffic in and around BC's Dixon entrance. What I'm not sure of is whether his concern is feigned or genuine. Had the announcement been made 6 weeks ago, before the Deep-Water horizon explosion and the subsequent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, I might have believed sincerity rather than politics motivated the decision. But since he has chosen to make this announcement in light of the British Petroleum super-spill, I think he is making political mileage rather than reasoned policy.
What's at stake? A 5.5 billion project, continued oil exports and long term employment in both the production fields and in Kitimat, a far flung resource town hard hit by the recession and in need of employment and infrastructure development. Let's face it; oil as a commodity is not going to go away and transporting oil by pipeline is preferable to trucking it to the tune of approximately 500,000 barrels a day. Folks, oil is slippery stuff and we are addicted. We will wean ourselves one day, but until that begins to happen we will continue to develop the oil sands and to export our product to the highest bidder. To oppose this development now, in light of the current spill, is mere knee jerk politics than it is a sincere reaction to the proposed Enbridge pipeline and tanker facility in Kitimat. Let's not pretend in order to curry political points.

Mr. Slick has changed his stripes.... The Florida politician now believes, in light of a gushing Gulf of Mexico oil spill, that oil companies need to be regulated. When common sense is applied, regulation of industry is imperative. The whole economy could be privatized if the government would regulate appropriately! Obama's health care plan is a concession to private health insurance providers. There is no need for public health care if the government can legislate and regulate how industry works. In time we will see if America's 16 % of GDP spent on health care will sink to the 10% of GDP spent in Canada, where the health care providers bill the government sponsored health care plan. When more of the GOP incumbents, like Mr. Slick, trip over their own common sense to find that government has a role in governing and regulating, the USA will recoup it's status as an economic leader as well as a defender of the environment and a watchdog of investors.

I should change the name of this blog to Incumbent advice...