Despite the devastation BP has caused, about a third of conservatives view the oil giant favorably.
As oil from BP’s Deepwater Horizon well makes its way deep into the marshes of the Gulf Coast, and the wildlife toll mounts, the company announced today that cleanup costs have already reached $1.25 billion and are growing quickly. Given this devastation, it’s not surprising that a vast majority of Americans — 72 percent — now have a negative view of the company, a new Rasmussen poll found. However, 22 percent still have a somewhat or very favorable view of the foreign oil giant. EnviroKnow examined the crosstabs from the poll and found that this group of BP supporters is made up disproportionately of conservatives:
On BP favorability, a few key statistics stick out:
* Conservatives are four times more likely to view BP favorably as Liberals are
* Republicans are more than twice as likely to view BP favorably as Democrats are
* Whites are nearly twice as likely to view BP favorably as Blacks are
Given conservatives’ almost religious devotion to offshore drilling, perhaps this is not surprising. While a majority of Americans now believe increased offshore drilling is “too risky,” several Republican leaders have called for an immediate expansion of drilling, even before the investigation of the Deepwater Horizon disaster is complete. Meanwhile, evidence mounts that BP flouted safety regulations before the disaster, and there are legitimate questions about the sincerity of BP’s pledge to pay for all damages from the spill. A recent Washington Post-ABC News poll, 64 percent of Americans would support a federal decision to pursue criminal charges against the company.
Conservatives can usually be counted on not to be able to make the connections between bad policy and bad beahvior to the rest of economy. They receive the most money from big oil so fight the hardest against regulation. BP continues to make billions in profit as much of the Gulf coast economy has been wiped out for possibly decades.
The Rove Legacy
Courage and Consequence: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight By Karl Rove • Simon and Schuster • 2010 • 520 pages • $30
The evidence of the wreckage of the Bush years can be found everywhere. Under this conservative president, federal spending rose from 18.5 percent of GDP in 2001 to 21 percent in 2008, while a $125.3 billion surplus became a $364.4 billion deficit. Median family income, which had grown from $42,429 in 1980 to $46,049 in 1990, and which grew again during the Clinton Administration to $50,557 by 2000, shrank under George W. Bush, standing at $50,223 in 2007 before the start of the recession. During the Bush presidency, three million jobs were created. That compares to 23.1 million during Bill Clinton's two terms, and 16 million during Ronald Reagan's. The rate of job creation under Bush was the lowest under any post-World War II president.
In Courage and Consequence, Karl Rove's new memoir, "Bush's Brain" rejects these facts out of hand, arguing that Bush successfully "alter[ed] the conservative movement that he came to lead. And the direction he steered it in was productive, principled, and healthy for the country." To reach this conclusion, Rove ignores a staggering record of arrogance, recklessness, and negligence-a record awesome in its consequences. It is not as if this record was unavailable to Rove. Time may have diminished his recall of some of the details, but the magnitude of the damage inflicted by the Administration is indelible.
Voters seek three crucial areas of expertise in a president: risk management; national defense and the conduct of war; and fiscal responsibility. Bush fell short on each. Most famously, Bush failed to respond proactively to his August 6, 2001 daily CIA briefing, headlined "Bin Laden Determined To Strike in US," which warned of "suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks, including recent surveillance of federal buildings in New York."
More at the link. The Bush presidency is much like BP devastation of the Gulf, a catastrophe that average Americans will be cleaning up for years. So sure go out and vote for a tea nut go we can put the country in full reverse and conservatives will have another chance to create yet another catastrophic round of governance.
