Crist appoints former BP lobbyist to spearhead Florida's legal response to BP oil spill

[amerfayed]

Source: News Press

Gov. Charlie Crist appointed the political odd couple – Democrat Bob Butterworth and Republican Jim Smith – almost two weeks ago to spearhead what could be the biggest and most complex lawsuit ever attempted by the state.

SNIP

“At this point, I’m satisfied that BP is trying to do the right thing,” Smith said. “My sense is that this thing is still unfolding. Nobody could really even assess damages at this point.”

That’s not good enough for environmentalists who see only foot-dragging and politics as usual. They complain that Smith wasn’t a good choice to direct the legal charge because he was a registered BP lobbyist on and off between 2001 and 2005.

SNIP

The environmentalists want the state to haul BP into court now, and force it to pay for more booms and skimmers so Florida will be better prepared than Louisiana if and when the devastation rolls ashore... They also point out that last week, when BP CEO Tony Hayward traveled to Louisiana, he acknowledged that the company didn’t do enough to protect the beaches.


Read more: http://www.floridaoilspilllaw.com/crist-appoints-former-bp-lobbyist-to-spearhead-floridas-legal-response-to-bp-oil-spill

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Charlie needs some campaign cash

[davidinalameda]

1. not sure if this is a bad thing

he knows how BP works

[Kelvin Mace]

3. If it is done

in with the idea that this guy knows where the bodies are buried, that might be good.

Sadly, such a person is quite corrupt, so easily bought off.

Ultimately a bad/stupid move, in my opinion. Rubio will pounce on it.

[davidinalameda]

10. I don't think Rubio would say anything since he's still pushing drill baby drill crap

lord knows he's a hypocrite but that would make him look like an even bigger one

[Kelvin Mace]

11. And this would be different from every other teabagger

how exactly?

:)

These people wallow in hypocrisy. They order the Hypocrisy Happy Meals by the dozen and super-size each one twice.

[The Backlash Cometh]

2. Crist is a political maneuverist.

He has a habit of appointing unethical people into positions of power.

Very disappointing.

[valerief]

7. He's a Republican. What can you expect from such a scorpion? nt

[superconnected]

4. Because all BP really cares about is their reputation. If they want to save it, take full

responsibility, stop the flow and clean it up, oh and pay a WHOLE LOT to other environment projects to help offset this disaster they created.

[apnu]

5. You can replace "BP" in your subject and replace that with any corporation and ...

... your statement will apply. All multi-national, fully globalized, publicly traded corporations, care about is their reputation. Specifically their reputation on Wall St. Everything else takes a backseat. The brand is more important than anything else the corporation does or who it employs or, even, who owns the stock.

Corporations rule the world and its a sorry state for all living things because of them.

[superconnected]

8. Agreed!

[valerief]

6. That's like appointing John Roberts to head the Supreme Court. Damnable. nt

[goforit]

9. BP dictates to Crist in this move, just like BP dictates what Obama does

PATHETIC!!!
Americans are pathetic to let these corporate assholes run right over them all.