BATON ROUGE – Leaping to the defense of the corporate special interests who underwrite his obscenely well-funded election machinery, Sen. David Vitter came out in opposition to a common-sense rule that would require companies to stop leaks and capture lost gas. Just as he did in 2010 after the BP oil spill devastated the Gulf Coast, Vitter put politics ahead of people and made it clear his most important constituents are the companies signing his checks.
Having spent the bulk of his time at last night’s “Coastal Candidate Forum” offering vague lip-service to pressing environmental concerns, Vitter took yet another page from the Bobby Jindal playbook and pivoted immediately to making straw-man arguments in lieu of offering any real solutions. As Louisiana voters learned from Gov. Jindal’s last campaign, a well-designed website document that’s light on specifics is no substitute for leadership. And inveterate submission to GOP corporate donors can have disastrous consequences for state policy.
“On common-sense issues as basic as making rules to stop gas leaks, David Vitter has proven yet again that he can’t be trusted to faithfully protect Louisiana families,” said Stephen Handwerk, executive director of the Louisiana Democratic Party. “If Vitter lacks the moral strength to stand up to corporate interests on something this basic, how can he expect the people of the state to trust him with anything else?”
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