Florida's teabagger Senate candidate Marco Rubio really is willing to go the extra Lipton for Big Oil donors. Check out this quote from his campaign website.

“We all agree that the Gulf oil spill is a tremendous tragedy that must never be repeated. But drilling is going to happen off our coast whether it’s done by America, China and Cuba, which just last week announced plans to drill 60 miles off the Florida Keys. We still need safer and smarter offshore energy exploration to end our addiction to foreign oil.”

There are significant logistical problems for Cuba drilling oil that Rubio ignores. Without the US lifting its trade embargo, Cuba can't refine the oil. The only potential drilling deal is between a Spanish oil company, not a Chinese company.

Also, even if other countries can drill oil in the Gulf, they cannot drill in our territorial waters unless they get permission from the US, like British Petroleum did. Keeping oil drilling off of our coastlines reduces the risk by reducing the total amount of drilling that is possible and by keeping what remains farther away from our country.

Rubio also conveniently neglects to mention that America would do just fine with phasing out offshore drilling. As I pointed out in a previous posting, all it would take is a comprehensive, green energy policy. Our addiction is to oil, not just foreign oil. We can and should ween ourselves off of petroleum.

You would think that a politician running for the Senate from Florida would be smart enough to oppose offshore drilling, which is doing terrible damage to Florida's tourism industry as it is. However, like the rest of the teabaggers, Rubio is a pawn for corporate interests and doesn't give a damn about his state. I still am amazed that so many people haven't figured out the the teabagger "movement" is corporate Astroturf.

This is nothing short of brazen political panhandling.

Photo: naama