The candidate's history, closely tied to the oil industry, has made his stance on drilling someing drilling-opponents have been closely watching.
Simon's father, William E. Simon, was President Nixon's ``energy czar'' through the Arab oil embargo of the early 1970s before becoming treasury secretary. In 1988, Simon and his brother joined their father in William E. Simon & Sons, an investment firm with substantial holdings in the energy industry.
Financial disclosure documents show Simon has tens of thousands of dollars invested in companies with direct interests in the 36 offshore leases at issues in the federal drilling case. However, Simon's campaign said the investments are not connected to actual drilling.
``To have someone heavily invested in the oil industry overseeing California's coast is a little scary,'' said Carl Zichella, the Sierra Club's regional director. ``If he waffles (on offshore drilling) at all, it will be to his political detriment.''
Notice what caving in to these creeps gets you, a smash in the mouth anyway. Now they're making Simon an oil guy because he owns some stock.
Playing nice with liberals doesn't pay. Worrying about bad press doesn't work either. You'll get it anyway, and at least it is free exposure.
I asked a local guy what they were and he frowned and said oil drilling platforms.
I looked at him and said Aren't they beautiful? He didn't want to talk to me.
It's a good thing the people at this table were through eating...these busboys get there real fast...
Yeah, I thought that was a nice touch. Most balanced mutual funds have at least one oil stock in them, so a huge percentage of Americans are "oil men."