bobbyw24
06-03-2010, 04:35 AM
When U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder met with Gulf Coast state attorneys general on Tuesday in New Orleans about the oil spill’s long-term effects and ongoing cleanup efforts, he left Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, a Republican, off the invitee list.
Attorneys General from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama were invited to meet in person with Holder in New Orleans and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott participated in the meeting via teleconference.
McCollum wasn’t too happy about Holder’s lack of hospitality. The move, though no authority has publicly stated it, looks like an Obama administration political ploy to keep a top Florida GOP gubernatorial candidate out of the spotlight.
The Florida attorney general said he thinks it’s “concerning” that Holder didn’t include the State of Florida in the meeting.
“The administration has not demonstrated clear competence in responding to this unprecedented environmental disaster since the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig on April 20, 2010,” McCollum said in a statement after having been excluded from the meeting.
Representatives in McCollum’s offices in Tallahassee, Fla., said they didn’t even know about the meeting until a reporter contacted Florida attorney general spokeswoman Sandi Copes about the conference the night before.
Holder said he plans to hold several meetings with all the states affected by the oil spill, but that the meeting Tuesday was intended only for those states immediately feeling the impact.
In a statement on June 1, Holder said:
“This afternoon, our team from Washington met with attorneys general and U.S. attorneys for the states and districts whose coastlines and citizens have been impacted by this disaster to discuss how we can work together to respond to this tragic spill.”
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/06/03/florida-republican-attorney-general-bill-mccollum-excluded-from-meeting-with-eric-holder-on-oil-spill/#ixzz0pmk9vKXH
Attorneys General from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama were invited to meet in person with Holder in New Orleans and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott participated in the meeting via teleconference.
McCollum wasn’t too happy about Holder’s lack of hospitality. The move, though no authority has publicly stated it, looks like an Obama administration political ploy to keep a top Florida GOP gubernatorial candidate out of the spotlight.
The Florida attorney general said he thinks it’s “concerning” that Holder didn’t include the State of Florida in the meeting.
“The administration has not demonstrated clear competence in responding to this unprecedented environmental disaster since the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig on April 20, 2010,” McCollum said in a statement after having been excluded from the meeting.
Representatives in McCollum’s offices in Tallahassee, Fla., said they didn’t even know about the meeting until a reporter contacted Florida attorney general spokeswoman Sandi Copes about the conference the night before.
Holder said he plans to hold several meetings with all the states affected by the oil spill, but that the meeting Tuesday was intended only for those states immediately feeling the impact.
In a statement on June 1, Holder said:
“This afternoon, our team from Washington met with attorneys general and U.S. attorneys for the states and districts whose coastlines and citizens have been impacted by this disaster to discuss how we can work together to respond to this tragic spill.”
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/06/03/florida-republican-attorney-general-bill-mccollum-excluded-from-meeting-with-eric-holder-on-oil-spill/#ixzz0pmk9vKXH