Fault Lines - We don’t take too kindly to offshore oil drilling

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We don’t take too kindly to offshore oil drilling

POSTED June 26, 10:37 PM

Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain may think his embrace of the idea to open up offshore oil drilling to deal with the world oil prices is a winning ticket nationally, but reality says it has all the flavor of sludge in California.

Already trailing his Democratic counterpart by as much as double digits in polls here, McCain came to the Golden State this week and was promptly blasted by critics at a stop in Santa Barbara, a city which still has painful memories of a disastrous 1969 oil spill.

McCain arrived with a goal of promoting a number of ideas about clean cars and reducing greenhouse emissions. And he left with the view of loud protests from environmentalists carrying anti-drilling placards.

McCain also has been pushing a proposal to build 45 nuclear plants in the U.S. by 2030, which suggests that he has no memory of the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant protests here in the ’80s.

The Arizona senator did receive support from at least one person in the Santa Barbara audience. Dan Secord told reporters there that Santa Barbara residents are still “all gooey” about oil spills.

So much for courting the coastal vote.

Sen. John McCain was drilled by critics in California for embracing a plan to allow for more offshore oil drilling.
(AP file photo)