Florida Republicans: drill, baby, drill

ST. PETERSBURG - Will there be consequences for local lawmakers who oppose offshore drilling legislation? That depends on who you ask.

State Representative Ed Hooper of Clearwater is a Republican and has already told his party leaders he will vote against allowing oil and natural gas exploration near Florida's Gulf of Mexico shoreline.

"I have seen no evidence or no threat or no inclination of any repercussions from the leadership," he says.

Hooper claims leaders of the House and Senate, the driving forces in the latest attempt to allow oil rigs in the Gulf, understand his position: his constituents depend on tourism and expect him to protect their pristine beaches.

State Representative Richard Kriseman is a Democrat and says Hooper is "getting a pass" from Republican leaders. He thinks they know the party risks losing Hooper's seat in the next election if he votes "yes" on drilling.

But Kriseman says there are other political moves stacking the deck, or unstacking it as the case may be.

"You know, somebody like myself who was the ranking Democrat on energy for three years,all of a sudden is not on the committee at all," Kriseman says.

The St. Petersburg lawmaker says there are now no Gulf Coast representatives on the first committee that will consider offshore drilling legislation.

Even Hooper admits geography might hand legislative leaders the votes they need.

"If you live on the Atlantic side or you live in Orlando there's nothing that bothers your constituents" says Hooper. "They don't have any beaches."

So far there is no specific legislation on offshore drilling. But the oil and natural gas industries have hired dozens of lobbyists—including the wife Republican senator Alex Diaz de la Portilla. He is the Senate Majority leader, and head of the legislature's energy, environment and land use committee.