Big Oil’s BFF Supports Global Warming, Defends Big Oil Again and Endorses “Drill Baby Drill” Plan in Great Lakes
MADISON — Even as the worst oil spill in U.S. history has grown large enough to threaten an area the size of the Great Lakes, multimillionaire U.S. Senate candidate Ron Johnson continues to show how out of touch he is with Wisconsin values, telling WisPolitics.com that “we have to get the oil where it is,” including drilling in the Great Lakes.
“Everyday Ron Johnson makes it even more clear that he will be a tool of Big Oil in Washington,” said Mike Tate, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. “Ron Johnson is out of touch with Wisconsin values and our tradition of protecting the environment. We deserve someone far better than a tool of Big Oil.”
Earlier this month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that the worst oil spill in history had put at risk 78,264 square miles of fishing area, an area nearly exactly the same size as the Great Lakes. Nevertheless, Ron Johnson announced his support to drill for oil in the Great Lakes, which are estimated to hold oil and natural gas.
On Monday, WisPolitics asked Johnson:
“Would you support drilling, like in the Great Lakes for example?”
Johnson replied:
“You know, the bottom line is we are an oil-based economy. There’s nothing we’re going to do to get off of that for many years. I think we have to be realistic and recognize that fact and, you know, I, I think we have to, get the oil where it is, but we have to do it where it is.”
Ron Johnson’s Record Supporting Big Oil:
Ron Johnson told Green Bay radio talk show host Jerry Bader earlier this month, “I’m glad there is global warming.”
Johnson also told Bader that he “totally disagreed” that climate change was proven and that it was “absurd” that anything be done to try to fix the problem.
The AP reported: “When asked whether the Gulf spill should prompt more caution before undertaking new oil-drilling projects, Johnson said no.”
Johnson also defended Big Oil telling national right-wing talk radio host Ed Morrissey: “This is not the time to be beating up on those guys, quite honestly.”
Johnson also told Morrissey that, “[T]he first thing that came to my mind” when he heard about the BP oil spill was to double down on his support for drilling in the Arctic Natural Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) because a spill there would be easier to deal with, saying: “Wouldn’t it be far better if we were drilling in ANWR?”
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