The first tar balls from the BP oil spill washed ashore on Texas beaches on Monday, which means that the spill has now hit all five Gulf states. The issue has already begun seeping into the Texas Governor’s race as Democratic opponents of Republican Gov. Rick Perry have seized upon his early remarks that the BP spill was an “act of God.” While Perry’s Democratic opponent, former Houston mayor Bill White, hasn’t gone sharply negative on the issue, outside Democratic players have stepped into the breach. Shortly after Perry’s comments in May, a Democratic political action committee released a video slamming his record on the spill, which has begun to surface once again.
The video, from the DC-based Lone Star Project, highlights Perry’s “act of God” remarks and footage from the aftermath of a 2005 BP refinery accident in Texas that killed 15 workers and injured more than 170 others—a catastrophe blamed on BP safety violations that happened under Perry’s watch. Perry’s face is seen floating alongside an image of the Deepwater Horizon rig while ominous music—apparently from the horror flick 28 Days Later—plays in the background:
The clip also notes that BP donated some $250,000 to rebuilding Perry’s fire-damaged Governor’s Mansion.
Perry has promised to take “aggressive steps” to address the BP spill (which he incidentally calls “the Deepwater-Horizon oil spill). But as more evidence of the oil spill washes ashore in Texas, I suspect that the Democratic attacks on Perry’s cozy ties with BP will only continue to pile up.
