A new ABC/Washington Post poll echoes the results of the CBS poll earlier this week – Americans are waking up on offshore drilling:
Just a quarter of Americans back expanding offshore drilling in the wake of the BP oil spill, and most fault federal regulators for the environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Before the spill, the Obama administration lifted the moratorium on drilling in U.S. coastal waters as a way to address the country’s energy needs. But most Americans now want fewer offshore wells (31 percent) or the amount kept at current levels (41 percent).
But there is even a more interesting find in this poll:
The new Post-ABC poll reveals a widespread perception that poor federal regulation was at fault in the gulf spill. About 63 percent point a finger at inadequate enforcement of regulations, and 55 percent see an overall weak regulatory structure. Even more, 73 percent, blame BP and its drilling partners for the accident. And the same number are calling the spill a major environmental disaster.
So a majority of Americans see a weak “overall regulatory structure”? Regulation has always been that taboo word for the right. How can people like Rand Paul continue to denounce government regulation when an increasing majority of Americans want more? This just shows that overall Americans are not ready for a Liberterian government. Sure it sounds good on the campaign trail, but in reality a lack of government oversight is a recipe for disaster and we are seeing that right now.