In a Times Picayune article of 9/23 Governor Edwards said Louisiana will not shy away from suing oil and gas companies over the damage they have done to the Louisiana coast regardless of Attorney General Jeff Landry's attempts to slow or block the efforts. The Governor made sense when he said, "when Louisiana goes before congress and ask for taxpayer's money to help fund Louisiana's coastal restoration while at home we do nothing to hold the oil and gas industry accountable for their actions."
Jeff Landry is a republican and was on the side of the Tea Party's extreme agenda. The Times Picayune article points out that Landry has strong ties to the oil and gas industry and has taken significant political contributions from them over the years. The Attorney General needs to think of Louisiana and do the job he was elected to do. He should be leading the charge against the industry because the facts are already known how oil and gas operations in Louisiana have damaged the environment.
Governor Edwards made another common sense statement when saying, "the oil and gas industry should pay for a portion of the master plan to restore the coast given their role in coastal erosion." I believe everyone in Louisiana can relate to the governor's statement. President Obama set the right tone and made the right decision to hold BP accountable for the damage done to Louisiana property and the personal loss due to the BP offshore blow out. And Governor Edwards approach to allow the suits to go forward against the oil and gas industry is the right thing to do.
Jeff Landry is committed to the oil and gas industry while Governor Edwards is committed to the state and its people. And that really says it all.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
