BP…the victim?

The British Petroleum company has filed lawsuits against all of the vendors that helped it take and endanger lives and commerce in the gulf.

The oil giant says that the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon and the subsequent eco-disaster that followed were largely caused by negligence on the parts of the makers of the rig and the makers of its safety devices. On BP’s lawsuit hit list are its partners in crime, which include Transocean the rig owner, Cameron, the designer of the failed safety device and Halliburton, who did cement and other work on the facility.

So British Petroleum with its known record for violating safety in the name of profit is now the victim? They want others to pay a “fair share” of the penalties and settlement monies that are being doled out. The situation reads almost like a comedy because all of partners in crime are now pointing at and suing each other, primarily to protect their images. The amounts of money they are requesting may seem large to the average person but are hardly punitive to these multinational giants. They are concerned with a loss of face and business, which, of course, amounts to money.

The next big question is: What will the Jindal administration do about this?

Now that all the companies are exposing each other’s negligence in an official way, will Jindal and Nungesser go after them also to secure greater compensation for the families and businesses that were damaged by the policies of this group of businesses?

Both have been openly critical of the speed and quality of President Obama’s response to the situation.

Now that the culprits are emerging in mass, will those charged with defending the citizens of this state go after them or will politics take the reins?

Going after big, guilty businesses has never been a part of the Republican playbook, but considering the level and extent of the damage to families, businesses and the environment, can we expect these state leaders to do the right thing? Will the Governor ignore party politics, overlook the wealth of the culprits and simply do his job and seek justice for the “little people?” Will Republicans and conservatives in the state demand that these wealthy corporations be held accountable in a meaningful way?

Do you really need three guesses?

This story originally published in the April 25, 2011 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.