The Spill Over of the Oil Spill
A recent article in the Capitol Hill publication, The Hill, examines the spill over of the BP oil crisis into the Florida Senate race. Like in most crisis situations, everyone is quick to judge the response, or lack there of, by those willing to make some sort of effort to fix the problem. It seems the closer the oil gets to the Florida coast, the greater the tension rises not only nationally but locally. As White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel so eloquently said, “never let a good crisis go to waste.” 
The major controversy between Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and Republican candidate Marco Rubio is not an immediate fix to the problem on both accounts. Speculation as to the long-term effects the spill will have on ballot issues seems to be more of an issue for Crist while immediate concern for Rubio is stopping the oil leak. 
Currently, it is prohibited in Florida to drill offshore. As The Hill reported, “anything less than a state constitutional amendment could one day be over-turned by state lawmakers.”
However, what is relevant this minute may not be relevant to voters come November. Is it worth it for the politicians and lawmakers to spend all this crucial time debating and fighting tooth and nail to get an “off shore drilling ban” amendment on the ballot when drilling off the Florida coast is already prohibited? 
As one article from the Orlando Sentinel investigated, if BP had taken a more secure and tedious process to finalize the rig, this whole debacle could possibly have been prevented. Only costing approximately $1 million a day according to many estimates.
While on some accounts it is easy to understand why a cost of close to $1 million a day would be easy to veto, how much was it really worth?
Living in America the free market is arguably what helps so many people prosper in the land of the free. In times like this it may be nice if there was governmental regulation. Especially since many could argue there is already government regulation on everything anyways, shouldn’t there have been governmental checks all the way through the rig building process?
Through indirect wording by both politicians and BP executives, it is assumed the rig was not “properly” finished. While BP holds the responsibility of the safety of its employees in its hands, it also holds an obligation to the safety of Americans; along with a civil responsibility to the environment.
BP took the “short cut” to surpass the millions of the dollars for the more secure “finish”. However, how much did they really end up saving?
So is the issue in Florida banning oil drilling or is it government regulation on oil drilling?
It is during a crisis like this when many different approaches can be taken to look at the need for more or less government regulation and more initiative by companies to stop being so concerned with dollar signs and more concerned with the environment. 
Steps have been taken to try to solve the oil spill. However, it is still too soon on most accounts to begin to feel some sort of relief. And until the feeling of assurance and satisfaction comes across members of the Gulf communities, it may be a safe assumption the issue of oil drilling on the Florida coast could be on the ballot in some form come November.
