The prevailing wisdom used to be: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”
But Rand Paul believes that words can indeed hurt the corporate citizens of the world. That the rhetoric of politicians and bureaucrats can drive large, profitable companies into bankruptcy:
Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul said Thursday that harsh criticism of BP by President Barack Obama‘s administration could contribute to the oil giant’s demise and harm its ability to pay for cleanup of the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
The comments came in response to blistering criticism by Democratic opponent Jack Conway at their first appearance together. Conway blasted Paul for saying in late May that Obama’s stance toward BP was un-American and anti-business. Those and other comments by Paul led to a backlash at the time that caused the Republican to retreat from the national scene for a couple of weeks.
Paul said Thursday that BP should pay for the Gulf cleanup, but that Obama administration’s sharp rhetoric could help imperil the company.
“I don’t want them to go out of business when they can’t pay for the mess, and that’s what that kind of rhetoric could do,” he said. “I want BP to be in business so it can afford to pay for the mess.”
It would be great if The Paul could be made to identify the particular administration statements he thinks have the power to bankrupt BP. But based on his recent media interaction track record, he’ll probably just go underground again.
