This pretty much sums up Obama’s attitude towards all opposition. Can you imagine if a Republican called for “crucifying” people at the State Department? Why even Charles Johnson would find that offensive! /not
by Ben Wolfgang
A top official at the Environmental Protection Agency has apologized after being captured on video saying his agency’s method of enforcing oil and gas regulations was to find a few bad actors to “crucify” and hold up as examples.
“I apologize to those I have offended and regret my poor choice of words,” Region 6 EPA Administrator Al Armendariz said in a statement first provided to the Daily Caller. “It was an offensive and inaccurate way to portray our efforts to address potential violations of our nation’s environmental laws. I am and have always been committed to fair and vigorous enforcement of those laws.”
Mr. Armendariz, whose region includes Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, made the comments in 2010. A video recording of his remarks was released Wednesday by Sen. James Inhofe, Oklahoma Republican, who quoted them during a speech on the Senate floor. Mr. Inhofe has also launched an investigation into what he is calling President Obama’s “war on fossil fuels.”
“What he has attempted to do is kill oil, gas and coal … but do it in a way that the American people won’t be aware of it,” Mr. Inhofe said. “They are able to scare people, intimidate people, and these are the very people who are hiring people and doing what’s necessary to run this machine called America.”
The video of Mr. Armendariz’s comments has gone viral in the 24 hours since its release. Posted on Mr. Inhofe’s YouTube channel, it’s gotten nearly 64,000 views.
In it, the EPA administrator was apparently responding to a question about the agency’s enforcement capacity and its ability to make sure drilling firms are following the rules. Mr. Armendariz’s response laid out what some, including Mr. Inhofe, believe is the Obama administration’s underlying philosophy when it comes to domestic fossil fuel production.
“I was in a meeting once and I gave an analogy to my staff about my philosophy of enforcement, and I think it was probably a little crude and maybe not appropriate for the meeting but I’ll go ahead and tell you what I said,” Mr. Armendariz said. “It was kind of like how the Romans used to conquer little villages in the Mediterranean. They’d go into a little Turkish town somewhere, they’d find the first five guys they saw and they would crucify them. And then you know that town was really easy to manage for the next few years. … So, that’s our general philosophy.”
“I am most truly and abjectly sorry that I got caught speaking plainly by people who do not share my beliefs and the beliefs of the agency I worked for, and I will now grovel as needed to save my job while resolving to further the objectives I am publicly disavowing in any covert way I can.”
buzzsawmonkey wrote:
Yeah I am sorry for speaking what I really feel.
CJ only cares about his precious vanity…but the tape shows just how out of control the EPA is. http://evilbloggerlady.blogspot.com/2012/04/epa-official-epas-philosophy-is-to.html
It’s only when this stuff appears on YouTube that these people get the urge to apologize. YouTube is one of the most effective weapons we have; this single website has revolutionized life in ways heretofore unimagined.
MacDuff wrote:
Youtube and the Internet (thank you Al Gore for inventing it!) are the great equalizers.
This is just about what you need to do to get an apology from a leftist.
Armendariz is the one who should be crucified. He’s been suckling at the government teat for years. EPA ‘crucify’ official received $540k in federal taxpayer-funded research grants. He’s also a member of the advisory board of the Environmental Defense League (EDL).
vernment to fund environmental projects that stretched from 2004 to 2010.