Are Florida Voters Ready To Jettison Corrupt Oil Industry Shill John Mica?

John Mica with toupee... funded by Oil & Gas lobbyists?

Most of the Florida congressional delegation is pretty radical right-- but only two have had perfect zero scores on the key issues since Obama was elected president: Panhandle extremist Jeff Miller, whose district has more in common with Alabama than with the rest of Florida, and John Mica, who has been representing the 7th congressional district, primarily along the east coast between Ponte Vedra Beach and Daytona Beach, since first being elected in 1992. Mica is a creepy little former lobbyist who decided early on that he'd rather be on the receiving end of the bribery game than the middleman for special interests and corporations. When challenged in his first Republican primary for his sleazy activities as a corrupt lobbyist, he simply said, "Some of the finest folks I've met are lobbyists." Presumably he was talking about his own family, lobbying being the family business.

Last week a Florida newspaper, the News Press, editorialized about Mica's attempt to excuse his campaign donors in the oil industry and to blame President Obama for the oil spill:

We have a new poster boy for bone-headed partisanship, and he hails from right here in Florida, just across the state in Daytona Beach. ... [L]axness in federal regulation stretches back over many years and administrations, both Democratic and Republican.

... What makes Mica's conduct especially repulsive is the fact that he was among the "drill, baby, drill" Republicans himself, has taken contributions from the oil industry and has a brother, David, who has been an oil industry lobbyist in Tallahassee for years.

John Mica is trying to deflect blame for Deepwater Horizon from the oil industry, which is quite a trick.

We don't need narrow-minded politics in Washington; we need wise energy policy that puts the national interest above partisan advantage and finger-pointing.

Is that too much to ask, Representative Mica?

Maybe so, but we should urge our leaders in Washington to reject his example, and think sensibly and constructively on this vital issue.

A few months ago I met Heather Beaven, a Navy vet, the Democratic candidate for the seat Mica is occupying and a passionate advocate for campaign finance reform. Since the disastrous Gulf oil spill, Mica has continuously embarrassed himself with aggressive calls for more drilling in Florida's coastal waters. He's the only Florida congressman of either party representing a beachfront district still chanting "Drill, Baby, Drill." And as tar balls begin washing up in the Florida Keys and the crucial Florida tourist industry slips into freakout mode, all Mica could do was remind Floridians that not only does he favor more drilling off the beaches, but that he has long supported-- and still supports-- drilling in the Everglades! All this while taking immense payoffs from the Oil and Gas lobbyists-- including one David Mica, Executive Director of the Florida Petroleum Council. Yes, his brother. I've been asking Heather to do a guest post all month and she found some time-- between running her campaign and raising her two young daughters-- this morning. Heather Beaven:

"I Won't Point The Finger At B.P."
-John Mica, Congressman & proud recipient of $60,000 in oil contributions

With one of the worst safety records, BP has been playing fast and loose with their safety obligations for a long time. In fact, according to the Daily Green, B.P. is responsible for 97% of the worst oil industry violations in the U.S.

Two BP refineries not only account for 97% of all "flagrant" violations in the U.S. refining industry, but most of the violations cited were classified as "egregious willful," according to a Center for Public Integrity investigation of Occupational Safety and Health Administration records.

In 2005, a Texas City BP refinery exploded ending 15 lives. In 2007, the Center for Public Integrity evaluated Occupation and Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) data and found that BP had 872 serious safety violations-- far above others in the industry-- including 760 classified and “egregious willful.”

OSHA reserves the “egregious willful” category for instances when “employers commit particularly flagrant safety violations.” But Jordan Barab, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor said it best when he said "The only thing you can conclude is that BP has a serious, systemic safety problem in their company.”

So… what does a boat load of cash buy a company with a flagrant record of safety violations? Well, if you’re snuggled up to John Mica, you get “NO” votes on OSHA safety bills in 1993, 1997, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010.

Newspapers from all over the country agree that kind of coziness is crazy. It is clearly unsafe and, I argue, unethical.

That is why I call for true integrity in campaign financing.

Conflicts of interest do not just cover your personal finances. If you are connected to a piece of legislation through family members or through a windfall of campaign donations from a particular industry (like the $100,823 Mica has taken from Oil & Gas)-- you have a conflict of interest. I call for such conflicts of interest to be filed and declared prior to votes. If you are beholden to an industry, voters have the right to know it!

I’ll go first. I declare that my campaign has been endorsed and supported by the Police, Firefighters, AFL-CIO, Veterans, and Air Traffic Controllers. I’ll be voting to keep their members safe by sea, land or air.


UPDATE: And What About Michigan Voters?

Natalie Mosher, the progressive Democrat opposing GOP corporate shill Thaddeus McCotter in the suburbs west of Detroit (the western parts of Oakland and Wayne counties), sent us a guest editorial she put together on the oil spill. Her perspective is worth looking at; it's the polar opposite of the one being voiced by John Mica and other conservatives whose political careers have been financed by Big Oil.

“I cannot tell a lie. I chopped down this cherry tree.” As legend has it, this famous phrase came from our founding father, George Washington. And while it is only a legend, it endures because it captures one of our most basic and fundamental beliefs: when you do something wrong, you must own up to it. Take responsibility for your actions and take the steps necessary to remedy the situation. Now, we seem to be living in a society where passing the buck is a virtue.

For more than a month, oil has been pouring into the Gulf waters, wreaking havoc on the environment, after the tragic rig explosion which killed eleven people. What’s truly outrageous is that the largest oil spill in history could have been prevented if proper safety and maintenance measures were taken. BP, Transocean, and Halliburton all had a role in failing to secure that oil rig. But instead of accepting responsibility for their part in this disaster, we saw a circular firing squad, as the corporations passed the blame to each other at recent Congressional hearings.

Let’s be clear: this was not just an accident. BP and its corporate partners caused this oil spill with intentionally inadequate rig and well management. According to experts, BP could have prevented this disaster for $500,000. BP made $5.5 billion in first quarter profits this year. For 1/100th of a percent of their first quarter profits, BP could have prevented the deaths of those eleven workers and spared the Gulf from the worst oil spill in history. Where is the sense of responsibility?

BP claimed that the spill releases about 5,000 barrels a day, while scientists are now saying it is more like 100,000. As far as clean-up, BP is using a chemical dispersant, Corexit, which has been banned by other countries due to its high level of toxicity. Workers helping out with the cleanup are getting sick. Why has the EPA allowed this to go on? Why has the Obama administration allowed BP so much control in dealing with this oil crisis? Why isn’t our representative in Congress demanding oversight and why hasn’t he made any public comments about the Gulf disaster at all? Where is the leadership? We should be seeing congressional action everyday with both sides fully engaged. This crisis is too big for one party alone while the other stands silent on the sidelines or insists that offshore drilling is a sensible energy solution.

The truth is lobbyists are too cozy with lawmakers and officials. In an effort to protect BP and other corporations, obstructionist senators in Washington are blocking legislation that would raise the liability cap from $75 million to $10 billion. This leaves the tax payers to foot the rest of the bill. When is enough, enough?

We see a lack of responsibility everywhere these days, from the Big Banks on Wall Street, who almost ushered in another Great Depression with their irresponsible derivatives trading, to the executives at Massey Energy Company, who ignored safety regulations and caused 29 deaths in their West Virginia coal mine. Regulations are in place for a reason, and they must be enforced. Americans simply won’t stand for anything less.

We hear pundits like Rush Limbaugh, blaming environmentalists for the disaster, while, at the same time, denying it’s a problem at all. Others are sticking to their chants of ‘Drill, Baby Drill’. We have to stop playing politics with our energy policy. We have to recognize this disaster for what it is: a warning about the costs of our addiction to oil. We can’t and we won’t drill our way to energy independence. We need to work together as Democrats, Republicans, and Independents for clean, safe, and renewable forms of energy.

I promise if I ever make a mistake, I will own up to it. No hiding behind slogans, passing the blame, or staying silent at a time when strong leadership is most necessary. As with Harry S. Truman, the buck stops here. Attempting to trivialize the effects of this disaster or ignoring the urgent need for a sensible energy policy is irresponsible and it’s not the kind of leadership we deserve in corporations, our regulatory agencies, or especially in the Congress. It’s time to stand up together, take responsibility for what we do and always look for the best solutions. It’s time to move ‘beyond petroleum’.