numbers. how do the democrats look at that political capital and then mine it? how do you convert poll numbers like that into electoral results if you re the democratic party? by standing up and talking about them loud and clear. as i recall, rachel, it s what we said we ought to have been doing last fall. we should have made the election last fall about raising taxes on the rich people. we should have been doing that last year. i think it s time to find our voice again. and i give the president credit, he should be emboldening democrats all across the country to speak over and over again. every democrat ought to be out talking about the ryan plan, talking about what the president wants to do. talking about the need to invest to create jobs. talking about, you know, we can do this if we do it the right way, and we can do it in a fair way, everybody shares the pain.
oil industry, that a year out from the bp disaster, congress has done quite literally, nothing in terms of new laws regulating drilling? you know, there s some confusion within the industry, frankly, what i m hearing, rachel. one is that more and more of those in the industry who drill offshore are looking for more certainty from the rules and the boe/mre has been very slow in publishing those new rules. but you have to understand also that the industry likes to think of itself as being very, very good, and doesn t really like these rules to be put in place. so as they ask for certainty, they continue to fight against new regulation. so they really like the gridlock within congress, i believe, and not having any new regulations to have to adhere to. even today, a year later, as you say, the industry continues to think of itself as being very good at what they do, they
then either you re going to mortgage your house or go to the emergency room. they want to push the costs of health care inflation on to you. so, yes, i think it s fair to say that their vision is radical. no, i don t think it s particularly courageous. the last point i ll make is this. nothing is easier than solving a problem on the backs of people who are poor or people who are powerless or don t have lobbyists or clout. i don t think that s particularly courageous. nothing is easier than solving a problem on the backs of people who are poor or people who are powerless or don t have any lobbyists or don t have clout. i don t think that s particularly courageous. joining us now is nbc news political analyst and former president governor, ed rendell. thanks for being here. my pleasure, rachel.
to think of itself as being very good at what they do, they continue to brag about how they re constantly improving all of their technology. right. if another bp-style spill or sized spill happened today. would we see different types of technology being used to clean it up? would we not see the same lousy boom, for instancehat we all saw in the gulf being so ineffective within the past year? on the surface rachel, nothing has changed. it s the same old same old. the same boom, the same 40-year-old technology that was used with the exxon valdez back in 89. there had been some improvements in subsea containment, obviously with these new containment companies, that s untested. that has not been actually proven to work in a real situation. you have to remember that 80% of the oil, about 80% that flows from a subsea well never sees the surface, so that is the
continue to brag about how they re constantly improving all of their technology. right. if another bp-style spill or sized spill happened today. would we see different types of technology being used to clean it up? would we not see the same lousy boom, for instance that we all saw in the gulf being so ineffective within the past year? on the surface rachel, nothing has changed. it s the same old same old. the same boom, the same 40-year-old technology that was used with the exxon valdez back in 89. there had been some improvements in subsea containment, obviously with these new containment companies, that s untested. that has not been actually proven to work in a real situation. you have to remember that 80% of the oil, about 80% that flows from a subsea well never sees the surface, so that is the critical element that s missing. if there was a proposal in