Rep. John Hall Plays Party Favorite at Public’s Expense

By Raquel Okyay

Cross posted at RaquelOkyay.com

Shameless is the best way to describe Democrat Rep. John Hall "who takes a whack" at his Republican opponent Nan Hayworth (Congressional District 19) in this video advertisement that accuses Hayworth of being an apologist for BP. What did Hayworth do to warrant this charge? She set forth a position at her campaign website regarding energy exploration on land and sea using the best, environmentally sound technology, and (all of a sudden) according to Hall, she is a cheerleader for BP. BP is the British owned energy company that suffered a fatal explosion on or about April 22, causing an oil spill in the Gulf Mexico that dwarfs the 1989 Exxon spill at Alaska's Prince William Sound. One difference between the two disasters is the Exxon rig had a finite amount of oil to spill, whereas at the Gulf of Mexico, vulnerable oil is vast, continuous, and spilling at the rate of millions of gallons a day. Nan Hayworth responding with a video advertisement decrying Hall (rightfully so) for spending tax payer dollars to fund his campaign with glossy literature and misleading advertisements, Hayworth does a little whacking of her own. John Hall, another grandstanding Democrat, who never lets a crisis go by without blaming Republicans Any good politician can utilize coherent arguments to contrast opposing positions, but what Hall does in this instance is utilize an international disaster to demoralize a political opponent at the tax payer expense. Hall's meritless assertions show a lack of appreciation for the severity of the oil spill, and show such an insensitivity towards the real lives affected by this tragedy, that his actions ought to be a wake-up call to voters. Debating issues is one thing, baseless attacks for personal gain is quite another. Nan Hayworth has called on Hall to debate the issues: I have challenged John to a debate on five occasions with no success. I'm ready to talk to the public and discuss ways to produce energy with the most minimal impact on the environment. None of us want to see the environment damaged. That is what town hall meetings are for – to talk with the public about issues. John is avoiding a meaningful debate even though it's his job to do so. As your Congresswoman I will act with every weapon in my arsenal to offer solutions to serious problems that a disengaged Congress and a disappointing administration have rejected. At the onset of the BP oil disaster, President Obama "tells Politico the oil spill is like 9-11" and proceeds to play golf with Vice President Biden for four hours. All while administration officials were BLOCKING efforts to lessen the damage in the Gulf. The Daily News reports: According to state disaster relief officials, Alabama conceived a plan – early on – to erect huge booms off shore to shield the approximately 200 miles of their state's coastline from oil. Rather than install the relatively light and shallow booms in use elsewhere, the state (with assistance from the Coast Guard) canvassed the world and located enough huge, heavy booms – some weighing tons and seven meters high – to guard their coast. So, Alabama decided on a backup plan. It would buy snare booms to catch the oil as it began to wash up on the beaches. But…the Fish and Wildlife Administration vetoed the plan saying it would endanger sea turtles that nest on the beaches. So, Alabama – ever resourceful – decided to hire 400 workers to patrol the beaches in person scooping up oil that had washed ashore. But…OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Agency) refused to allow them to work more than twenty minutes out of every hour and required an hour long break after forty minutes of work so the cleanup proceeded at a very slow pace. The short answer is that every agency – each with its own particular bureaucratic agenda – was able to veto each aspect of any plan to fight the spill with the unintended consequence that nothing stopped the oil from destroying hundreds of miles of wetlands, habitats, beaches, fisheries, and recreational facilities. The only faction of the population that Hall shields against criticism is an increasingly left-leaning Democrat Party. Surely Hall is out of touch with the district if he does not recognize when criticism is due. Instead, Hall stands on a platform that bashes Republicans and protects Democrats, even when Republicans are right and Democrats wrong. This kind of partisan representation hurts everyone and ought to provide insight into the motives of the Congressman. After all, what has Hall done to offer solutions to the BP oil spill except point fingers at innocent bystanders? The true culprits are those who have failed to lead, to act, to move forward with answers not rhetoric. Elect Nan Hayworth to Congress and find an official who will act on behalf of District 19, not in spite of them.