Gulf Oil Spill: Why Leadership Matters-- A Guest Post From The Progressive Democrat Running Against Steny Hoyer

On Sunday, the latest in BP’s myriad attempts to cap the geyser of oil gushing from their Deepwater Horizon well-- the “Top Kill” procedure-- failed. For over 40 days tens of millions of gallons of crude oil have spewed forth from deep beneath the ocean, fouling the Gulf of Mexico, coating Louisiana’s fragile marshes and wetlands, the incredibly rich and ecologically diverse part of nature that Representative Charlie Melancon (Blue Dog-LA) reminded us are America’s wetlands. For over 40 days it has been painfully obvious that our nation’s addiction to oil carries with it far too great a cost.
 
We have offered our only planet, and our national treasures, to drilling.
We have mortgaged our economic future to crude.
We have sold our soul for oil. 
 
If this forty-day wake-up call does not in fact wake us up, then what will?  And still, where is the passion?  Where is the anger, the outrage, the national commitment to change?
 
This disaster is a wake up call to America that the price at the pump is not the true cost of oil. It is a wake up call to America that ideology matters; that our government matters and that who runs our government matters. Leadership matters. 
 
For the past year we have heard cries of “socialism!” from the right wing-- from the Tea Party and the corporations financing their media spotlight. Yet lately, the anti-government, anti-regulation platitudes have turned into criticism over a lack of government action-- from many of the same people. 
 
They may have cried socialism at the Obama Administration, but far before Obama, regulation was cast aside in favor of privatized profits and socialized losses. When the failure of our largest banks threatened to bring down our economy, we the people bailed them out. As BP’s oil smothers out life in our wetlands and undersea, Republican Senators stand determined to block the attempts to eliminate the liability cap on BP; apparently they want we the people to bear the cost of this cleanup and this disaster too.
 
But now there exists clear proof-- hundreds of miles of devastation as proof-- that government matters. That our only way around this system of privatized profit and socialized loss is a government where regulations are written by officials committed to the people instead of committed to protecting special interests. Stronger, stricter regulations for Wall Street and our financial system. Stronger, stricter regulations for drilling. Why on earth should we play fast and loose with our coastal economy and coastal ecology by drilling, especially without the necessary safety precautions? Why shouldn’t every well have a blowout preventer? Why were permits granted to a corporation that quite obviously had not the slightest clue for how to stop a deep-sea leek?  
 
And, most importantly, why have we not fully committed ourselves to transforming our economy through clean energy-- through methods that will create millions of desperately needed new jobs in America and here in Maryland. Our nation can lead the world in a different kind of offshore energy-- offshore wind energy.
 
Some people are happy enough simply because Democrats have control of the House, but leadership matters and vision matters. I’m Andrew Gall, I’m running against Steny Hoyer-- corporate interests' favorite Democrat, and I have a true vision for our future. It’s a vision that I want to fight for every single day; that I promise to fight for every single day.  Maryland needs a new vision and America needs a new vision. That’s why I am running for Congress, and that’s why I’m asking for your help. Thank you.

Andrew Gall (Democratic Candidate for Congress MD-05)
AndrewForCongress.org