Saving brother Jeb, the heck with CA

I wrote a few weeks back that the Bush Administration would find a convoluted way to distinguish Florida's oil leases with California's. You see, Pres. Bush had offered to use federal dollars to buy oil leases in the Everglades and offshore FL. A real triumph for environmentalists, right? True, but an even bigger triumph for brother Jeb's reelection chances. Predictably (to all but Dubya, Rove, and gang), California immediately demanded similar treatment. But as we all know, there isn't a Bush running for anything in California.

Well, when I wrote "convoluted way", I had no idea it would be this bad:

[Interior Secretary Gale] Norton reasoned that California does not oppose coastal drilling because there are 77 active state and federal leases off the coast where more than 260 new wells have been drilled since 1990. California not only approved the wells, but is profiting from the royalties, she noted.

By contrast, no gas or oil had come from the Florida leases, she wrote.

The California drilling is on leases dating back 50 years or more. And, California is currently in court trying to revoke those leases and purge its coast of the dirty and ugly oil wells. Not only are state Democrats fighting to end the leases, but so is the GOP gubernatorial candidate. Does this support Norton's assertion that "Florida opposes coastal drilling and California does not"? Hardly.

Posted June 10, 2002 10:41 AM | Comments (0)