The Runner

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A day and a half after

Deepwater Horizon exploded,

the flames, fed by crude

from the bottom of the sea,

were simply too big to contain.

For the families

of the 11 missing crew members,

hope of their rescue is fading.

The search for survivors

will end before dawn tomorrow.

The forced feeding of mud and cement

into the well failed to work.

The well continues to spew oil

with the force of seven fire hoses.

Today, that slick is 12 miles long,

covering 100 square miles.

Winds are coming from the south

and they're strong,

about 30 miles an hour,

pushing that oil towards the coast.

Congressman, all of our sites

are outlined here.

We've got our east operations

all the way up here.

Over here, our west operations.

Up here we're working with local Indian

tribes to protect their burial grounds.

How you doing on boom supply?

Hard boom we clean and reuse,

so we're good there.

Soft boom needs to be replaced

when it's oil soaked, so...

demand is never ending.

It's something new.

It's something we had to figure out

on our own because we're shrimpers.

We didn't know nothing about

cleaning up oil until last week.

Floyd told me you got six boats.

- BP contract them all?

- Two of them.

The other four shut down

because we ain't allowed to shrimp.

How much are they paying you?

1350 a day a boat.

And out of that I got to pay for fuel,

crew, all the other expenses.

- Normally you'd be making what? 35?

- Yeah.

Going to have to start

laying off workers soon.

First Katrina took it away and now BP.

What you going to do?

The chair recognizes the gentleman

from Louisiana, Mr. Pryce.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Today we saw reports

that BP's spill in the Gulf

has grown to nearly 20 million gallons,

which is roughly twice

the size of Exxon Valdez.

This is the most devastating man-made

environmental disaster in U.S. history.

It's also an economic

and cultural disaster.

People of the Gulf Coast

will be living with this reality

long after the TV cameras have gone home

and the nation's attention

has turned elsewhere.

Long after the politicians

have finished making their statements,

these people will continue to suffer.

Today I'm not a federal official.

Today I'm a resident

of the Louisiana Gulf Coast.

These fishermen,

these restaurant owners,

these folks who run the bait shops

and the corner stores,

they're people I grew up with.

They're people my parents grew up with.

People I look in the eye

every single day.

They've never asked

for a handout in their lives.

They've bled for this country, their sons

and daughters have bled for this country,

and right now they need our help.

They need firm commitments

from BP and the government

that'll not just help them rebuild,

but that'll assure them

we stand by their side.

That we have their backs

just like they've had ours.

Everything I know,

everything I love is at risk.

And even though these marshes

lie along coastal Louisiana...

these are America's wetlands.

And even though this is

British Petroleum's spill...

it is America's ocean.

Excuse me, I'd just like to submit

the rest of my statement for the record.

Thank you.

Been calling the house.

I needed time to clear my head.

That was quite a show you put on.

It wasn't a show. I dropped the lines

about the necessity for a central czar.

- Most important part of the speech.

- You were honest.

- And that's the way it came off.

- No, I was weak.

You haven't heard.

- Who else picked it up?

- Everyone.

Today it appears the sun is shining

on a Louisiana congressman nobody knows.

You want to milk this.

I want to milk the sh*t out of it

and ride it straight

into the Senate seat.

This is what we've been waiting for.

You're not capitalizing on the spill.

This...

This is you.

All right. All right.

We're going to use this, Frank,

to ensure BP and Transocean

take responsibility

for what they've done.

Shine a light in their goddamn faces.

You're on the 9:
15 out of Reagan.

And Colin...

if we're going to do this,

we need to be buttoned up.

I want the Coast Guard

and the EPA closed to press.

- But Frank explicitly said...

- I don't care what Frank said. This is priority.

- Let's keep this tasteful.

- Would you consider 20/20 tasteful?

They're going to open

with you on June 15th.

It seems like this speech

is going to have some legs.

Congressman, care to comment

on yesterday's speech?

- Jen, how you doing this morning?

- Hanging in there, sir.

Unfortunately, the congressman

requested this be a closed-door meeting.

- Sorry, folks.

- Are you running for Senate?

Since you were last here, we've made

a significant number of changes.

Just trying to be more aggressive

containing the oil.

How often are you receiving

shipments of soft boom?

Not often enough.

I'll see what I can find out

and circle back.

If you need anything else, you call me.

You've got my personal number.

Yes, sir. Thank you.

Enlighten me, Mr. Morris,

who do I need to call

to get trucks bringing in

soft boom every day?

Admiral Allen? Goddamned president?

No, no, no. Believe me, I understand,

and I'm not trying to be rude.

I'm just sick of all this posturing.

You don't think I've been

through this before?

Katrina, Rita, Gustav, Ike.

Thank you. That's all I wanted to hear.

Louisiana needs the oil industry

and the oil industry needs Louisiana.

That was true 100 years ago

and it will be true in another 100 years.

The spill was a tragedy,

but it is in everyone's best interest

to keep American oil healthy.

My husband isn't doubting how reliant

our local economy is on industry.

My fund runs a diversified

energy portfolio

with an emphasis on Gulf producers.

I know you've leaned left

on energy in the past,

but I'm looking to back a horse

that will support our interests.

You can find a lot

of politicians around here

in the party whose interests

align with yours.

- Why me?

- You're a winner.

People are talking about you, Congressman.

Even in my world.

Well, then, you should know

I don't pander to campaign financing.

Well, you won't win the Senate seat

unless you reconsider.

I'm sorry, I was under the impression

this was a lobby meeting.

We haven't decided

if we're going to run for Senate.

Colin, just hear him out.

We are in the middle of a recession.

This election is going

to be about the economy.

And a moratorium will be

more devastating than the spill itself.

Mark, I don't think

you quite understand,

I'm not just advocating

for a temporary moratorium.

I think we ought

to phase out drilling altogether.

- Colin.

- Oil is an addiction.

And right now it's going to be pretty damn

tricky to deny how harmful it is,

how antiquated it is.

We need to develop

a sustainable infrastructure.

Mark, you're a man with foresight.

You know green is how

we ought to be creating jobs.

Am I hearing what I think I'm hearing?

I'm sorry.

We've wasted your time.

You're not going to win.

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