The Judge vs. Obama-Gary Bauer

There are 3 Branches of Government, Not One!

Yesterday, a federal court reminded the president that there are three independent branches of government. In striking down Obama’s six-month drilling ban, the court sided with those who argued that the ban amounted to an unconstitutional seizure of property without due process. The oil companies can’t afford to let these rigs sit idle – it’s costing them, according to one report, as much as a million dollars a day! If they can’t drill in the Gulf, the companies will tow these rigs to wherever they can drill and they will likely sign long-term contracts – meaning that those jobs in the Gulf won’t be coming back in six months.

Judge Martin Feldman was very critical of the ban, writing, “The blanket moratorium, with no parameters, seems to assume that because one rig failed and although no one yet fully knows why, all companies and rigs drilling new wells over 500 feet also universally present an imminent danger.”

Judge Feldman also called the administration’s justification for the ban “misleading.” Consider this excerpt: “Much to the government’s discomfort and this Court’s uneasiness, the summary also states that ‘the recommendations contained in this report have been peer-reviewed by seven experts identified by the National Academy of Engineering.’ As the plaintiffs, and the experts themselves, pointedly observe, this statement was misleading.”

Two weeks ago I reported that seven experts referred by the National Academy of Engineering had been asked to review safety recommendations for the administration. But Interior Secretary Ken Salazar added the drilling ban to the report he sent to the White House AFTER these scientists had reviewed it. They have publicly opposed the drilling ban and objected to the use of their names to defend it.

The judge also noted the ban’s impact on the economy: “Some of the plaintiffs’ contracts have been affected; the court is persuaded that it is only a matter of time before more business and jobs and livelihoods will be lost. The effect on employment, jobs, loss of domestic energy supplies caused by the moratorium as the plaintiffs (and other suppliers, and the rigs themselves) lose business, and the movement of the rigs to other sites around the world will clearly ripple throughout the economy in this region.”

The White House said yesterday it would appeal the decision and seek an immediate stay of the judge’s order. In addition, Ken Salazar stated that he intends to issue a new drilling ban in a matter of days. There are thousands of rigs operating in the Gulf of Mexico. If there are safety violations that justify a shut down, then shut down the violators. Otherwise, stop punishing the hard-working families of the Gulf!