There can be no doubt the response from Washington to the Gulf oil well tragedy has been nothing but “blame Bush” from the Democrats. Instead of this Administration seeking to do the right things, it instead has to find someone or something to blame for this disastrous accident that is happening in the Gulf. Somehow if they can find the right person or entity to blame, their lack of responsibility will simply go away. That is an unacceptable response from Washington.

Accidents happen. I have born witness to that more times than I care to think about. Humans make mistakes and have since time was first recorded. Equipment fails and the operators of that equipment often times get too comfortable in its operation and they fail to head every safety warning ever given about its operation. Those are human responses.

Instead of “putting the boot” to BP’s throat as this Administration has claimed it is doing, it should instead be concentrating on 2 efforts- making sure BP has every asset it needs to stop the flow of oil from this well and secondly, to make sure every asset is utilized to recover and clean up from the oil spill.

So what has this Administrations response been? Blame Bush and form a Commission to study what happened. The last time I checked, at noon on January 20th, 2009, Barack Obama was sworn in as President and he made Cabinet level appointments for every single agency under his Administration. Forming Commissions is the response this Administration has to everything- U.S. Debt Commission, Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, Guantanamo Closure Commission, along with others I am sure of. The end result- we taxpayers spend millions to “study” the problems and end up with the same, tired, worn out, non-working solutions.

Even Rep. Corrine Brown has voiced her own reaction- Ban all Offshore Drilling for Oil and Gas in the form of a Bill introduced to do so. None of my opponents in this race have weighed in on this either. Either they are going to offer the same “politically correct” rhetoric, or their silence is simply an indication that they, too, offer the same Washington reactions as always offered from politicians.

My position and answer has been summed up in previous writings:

1. Stop the flow of oil and use every private and government asset to assure that happens quickly.
2. Assure that every possible effort to clean up the resulting spill in the Gulf is placed into action.
3. Determine the cause of this accident in order to minimize or eliminate this occurrence from happening again.

Drilling for oil and gas in the hostility of 5,000 feet of ocean is without a doubt going to filled with risk. To continue to “blame” and “point fingers” does nothing to improve the technology or safety needed to drill at those depths. Stop the calls for banning this exploration and start looking for ways to improve it. We as a nation will need to have methods to assure a cost-effective energy supply for decades to come and having the right technology to drill and extract that deep water energy will be vital to assuring that happens. The real culprit in this is humanity and our inability to stop blaming people when accidents happen.

Could it be that is the result of too much government trying to be all things to all people?

Today, Rep. Corrine Brown introduced legislation that would ban all off-shore drilling and exploration for oil. Her ban would:

“permanently prohibit the conduct of offshore drilling on the outer Continental Shelf of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.”

Mike would like to remind Rep. Brown that the Department of Energy was created for the sole purpose of “Eliminating the Dependence of Foreign Oil” in the United States. In spite of the fact that is its purpose, it has obviously FAILED miserably in its objective.

Yes, we have a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but to have this type of knee-jerk reaction to this disaster is far from what is needed to achieve the goals of the Department of Energy.

Mike believes in 3 basic goals that must be achieved and drilling resumed:

1. Determine the cause of this disaster and make sure that proper safeguards and controls are in place to assure that it will not happen again.
2. Clean up this disaster using all available private and public resources to do so.
3. Open other areas of this nation like the Bakken Reserves in N. Dakota and Montana for drilling.

Rep. Brown seems to forget that until there is available alternative energy sources that can fully meet the demands of this nations energy needs, oil will remain a needed resource for our nations survival. Even her “precious” rail transportation system she wishes to spend even MORE of taxpayers dollars on and continue to subsidize with even MORE taxpayers dollars, requires DIESEL FUEL to operate. Rep. Brown, THAT is an “oil based” product and to restrict the supply of DOMESTIC oil is going to be even MORE costly for Americans.

Instead of more legislation that will cost the people of this District even more in energy dollars, Rep. Brown would be better off working to create JOBS for the people and bring OPPORTUNITY to this District. Taking train rides to Miami to bring even more “high speed rail” to areas OUTSIDE this District is not making “Corrine Delivers” a truthful statement.

After listening to the President’s State of the Union Address I have come but to one conclusion- our President has little regard for individual liberties and views “big government” as the solution for issues our nation is facing. His inability to recognize that his massive expansion of government has not fixed a single thing and the voice of the American people don’t have his ear.

His desire to pass Health Care “reform” in which the people overwhelmingly have said “WE the People” don’t want your Plan, indicates he hasn’t taken the time to listen to both sides. Yet, he want’s unity from Congress in this matter and views the opposition as somehow a personal attack on him personally. It is not a personal issue Mr. President, but is the American people’s voice that isn’t being heard and I will stand up for them long before I stand up for your agenda that is laden with “behind closed doors deals”.

You, Mr. President, were hired by “WE the People”, not the special interest groups, the union bosses, and lobbyists. You convinced the American people that a $787 BILLION Stimulus bill would keep unemployment below 8%, yet no jobs are being created, people are losing their homes, and the banks and Wall Streeter’s are standing on solid and profitable ground.

Small businesses are under attack as you press for Cap and Trade, Health Care, and “Card Check”. As I listen to these business owners, they feel threatened by your agenda and will most likely not survive your onslaught of taxes and fees. Yet, you offer the smoke and mirrors that “capital gains tax reductions” and “hiring credits” which in reality, will not create jobs. “Capital gains” don’t happen in a small business, but it’s capital investment in people, in expansion of inventories, and increased business activity they need. Investment in those areas make business succeed and are never subject to any “capital gains taxes”, but are what fuel the economic engine of our nation and result in those PROFITS you want to tax even more. We are not stupid Mr. President as you pandered the those who have never owned a business and won’t understand either, when they lose their source of family income when their employer closes his doors.

Good speeches don’t pay the bills of the ordinary American, jobs do. Cap and Trade, Health Care, and bank bailouts don’t put food on the table, jobs do. More regulations and higher taxes on our Small Businesses, and the threats of even more, don’t cause economic growth, and won’t create new JOBS, Mr. President.

Making college tuition loans part of a Government sounds all nice and fuzzy and having payback in 20 years has a nice ring to it, but making Public Service a condition of a 10 year payoff tells me that more expansion of GOVERNMENT is on the table for this Administration. Mr. President, the PEOPLE want LESS government, and and end to the deficits and your plans will produce another $1.9 TRILLION this year alone. Sooner or later, Mr. President, no nation will want our Debt instruments (bonds), as they aren’t so sure that your agenda will bring back the needed economic growth to pay back that debt.

It is time for Fiscal responsibility from our government and that means accepting the fact we are spending far too much, not taking the steps to cut the size and scope of government, and to offer a “spending freeze” that isn’t really a “freeze” on the areas where government needs massive overhaul. THAT, Mr. President is nothing more than pandering to the American people and is simply more “smoke and mirrors” that the American people are tired of. You promised to cut spending,  not increase it 25% so you could simply freeze a mere $20 billion.

You want to create more exports from our nation, yet, what did you put on the table that would bring more manufacturing from American shores? Those jobs are gone to where Mr. President? Let me give you that answer- China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and India. You can’t export things you aren’t making, so those cargo ships that come into Jacksonville’s Port, simple return with the ONLY thing we seem to be exporting- AIR.

I’m sorry Mr. President, but your agenda falls well short of the desires of WE the PEOPLE. Excuses and “blame Bush” will no longer cut it for your failures and inability to listen to what the American people are telling you. No longer will promises of transparency, no lobbyists, and no back room deals for the cronies be acceptable as every single promise you ran on have been broken. We are a Representative Republic Mr. President, not a nation that you “RULE”, but one you GOVERN. You can’t govern unless you listen and you have lost the trust of those who hired you. Our government has 3 distinct branches Mr. President, and your chastising the Supreme Court indicates that you feel all 3 are there for you pleasure, and you don’t understand their roles are to protect us from the very tyrannical “RULE” you wish to impose.

Like any CEO will tell you, without the results you promised, the stockholders want a new direction. Let’s make sure we bring that new direction that works to our nation in 2010 and put our nation back in the hands of WE THE PEOPLE. Let’s not be lulled to sleep by a great speech, but compare the words to the actions and the actions have fallen far short.