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The message to the federal government from Wednesday's Rally For Economic Survival was clear: end the arbitrary deepwater drilling moratorium and let the Gulf Coast get back to work. "If they hear nothing else from today, they need to hear us say this: let us work. We don't want a BP check. We don't want an unemployment check. We want to go back to work," declared Governor Bobby Jindal to thundering applause from the crowd.
"Enough is enough, and it's time to stop punishing American workers," said Lt. Governor Scott Angelle. Thousands of concerned citizens from throughout the state filled the seats at Lafayette's Cajundome to protest against the federal offshore drilling moratorium. Early estimates put the figure at over 10,000 in attendance at what is, to date, the largest rally that has been held in the nation against the moratorium.
"We should not have to fight our own federal government," said Jindal. "They gave us a second arbitrary and capricious one-size-fits-all moratorium that does nothing to make the Gulf safer," said the Governor. "And here is what is so dangerous: the folks in Washington, they don't understand energy production. Here in Louisiana, we have been producing energy for the rest of the country for decades."
"This moratorium does nothing to reduce our energy needs," he said. Angelle echoed the importance of Louisiana in fueling the nation and doing what many other states do not want to do. He also stated that while he is not against alternative fuels, he doesn't believe the country, as a whole, is ready to move in that direction.
"Let's get real. America is not ready to get their fuel from the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees," said the Lt. Governor.
Angelle also emphasized that the moratorium doesn't hurt the oil company VIP's. It's the average citizen who feels the blow. "You are crippling the middle class of the Gulf Coast," said the Lt. Governor. Estimates, according to the Governor, put the job loss from the moratorium in Louisiana alone at about 20,000, as platforms are shuttered and companies negotiate to move rigs to other countries.
"The administration said to us that the rigs will come back. Like you can turn off or on a switch," said Jindal. "They don't understand that once they are gone, they are gone for years. The rigs are losing half a million dollars a day. They aren't going to wait," the
Governor added. However, officials are confident that the state and its citizens will persevere. "We will win this war," declared Jindal.
The message to the federal government from Wednesday's Rally For Economic Survival was clear: end the arbitrary deepwater drilling moratorium and let the Gulf Coast get back to work. "If they hear nothing else from today, they need to hear us say this: let us work. We don't want a BP check. We don't want an unemployment check. We want to go back to work," declared Governor Bobby Jindal to thundering applause from the crowd.
"Enough is enough, and it's time to stop punishing American workers," said Lt. Governor Scott Angelle. Thousands of concerned citizens from throughout the state filled the seats at Lafayette's Cajundome to protest against the federal offshore drilling moratorium. Early estimates put the figure at over 10,000 in attendance at what is, to date, the largest rally that has been held in the nation against the moratorium.
"We should not have to fight our own federal government," said Jindal. "They gave us a second arbitrary and capricious one-size-fits-all moratorium that does nothing to make the Gulf safer," said the Governor. "And here is what is so dangerous: the folks in Washington, they don't understand energy production. Here in Louisiana, we have been producing energy for the rest of the country for decades."
"This moratorium does nothing to reduce our energy needs," he said. Angelle echoed the importance of Louisiana in fueling the nation and doing what many other states do not want to do. He also stated that while he is not against alternative fuels, he doesn't believe the country, as a whole, is ready to move in that direction.
"Let's get real. America is not ready to get their fuel from the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees," said the Lt. Governor.
Angelle also emphasized that the moratorium doesn't hurt the oil company VIP's. It's the average citizen who feels the blow. "You are crippling the middle class of the Gulf Coast," said the Lt. Governor. Estimates, according to the Governor, put the job loss from the moratorium in Louisiana alone at about 20,000, as platforms are shuttered and companies negotiate to move rigs to other countries.
"The administration said to us that the rigs will come back. Like you can turn off or on a switch," said Jindal. "They don't understand that once they are gone, they are gone for years. The rigs are losing half a million dollars a day. They aren't going to wait," the
Governor added. However, officials are confident that the state and its citizens will persevere. "We will win this war," declared Jindal.
