Much has been made of my outburst toward the Obama administration on May 26 on “Good Morning America” when I exclaimed, “Man, you got to get down here and take control of this! Put somebody in charge of this thing and get this moving. We’re about to die down here!” But those emotions had been percolating below the surface like the crude that threatens our way of life today.
But while it is important to note that the tepid response to this catastrophe is unacceptable, it is also essential that the rest of the country understand that this feeling of neglect has festered amongst South Louisianians for generations. It’s just one damned thing after another, so the anger rising out of the Gulf is not new.
For too long, the federal government and industry alike has simultaneously abused and neglected, patronized and plundered, and now polluted the people of Louisiana. And our plight is now a national emergency
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We’ve been abused, neglected and exploited for too long.
And to be brutally honest, part of my frustration is a sense of personal shame that I have known this was going on for a long time and I was ineffective in making Louisiana’s case in my years in Washington.
But let me say that it’s now time to draw a line in the alluvial mud. We want our fair share of oil revenues now so that we can protect ourselves. And we want to be treated like we matter.
We’re not whiners. We produce oil and gas and produce seafood and allow goods to flow freely to the heartland. We assume the risks with little reward.
In the end, whatever past transgressions by the country towards us or whatever our failures to articulate our plight have been, we should be reminded of the words of Admiral Lord Nelson just before the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, “England expects that every man will do his duty.” And in this, the most critical hour in our region’s long, tortured, and yet glorious history, let’s remind ourselves that Louisiana expects every person to do their duty.
This is a struggle for the preservation of our culture, way of life and the land we love.
-Well said James Carville. Well said. Something is in the works. What exactly, I'm not sure of, but something big is coming. And it's long overdue.
