The Miami Herald
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Drilling dispute pits Bush vs. Bush

BY STEVE BOUSQUET
April 20, 2001

Gov. Jeb Bush's stand against offshore oil drilling in the Gulf has put him squarely at odds with his brother's new administration -- prompting fresh criticism of President George W. Bush's energy policy and inviting a test of the younger Bush's clout with the White House.

Jeb Bush wants to stop a plan by Interior Secretary Gale Norton to auction off leases of six million acres of oil- and gas-rich seabed off the Gulf Coast by December. The auction would allow oil companies to seek permits to place rigs 100 miles off the Panhandle coastline.

``I have a disagreement with the proposed path of my brother's administration,'' Bush said Thursday. ``I've told Floridians that when I'm in disagreement with Washington, I'm going to express my opinions and defend what I believe to be the state's interests, and I'm going to continue to do so. You're never going to get everything you want. Ask any governor that.''

The sale of energy leases off Florida has been in the planning stages for five years, dating to the midpoint of the Clinton administration. And, Jeb Bush notes, his opposition to Gulf drilling goes beyond that of his predecessor, Lawton Chiles: Bush also opposes drilling off Alabama or Mississippi in areas within 100 miles of Florida.

A final decision on the leases is months away, but a Bush-vs.-Bush, mano a mano story line is impossible to ignore. A reporter asked Jeb Bush Thursday: ``Is oil thicker than blood?''

There are other questions. Would President Bush dismiss his brother's protests and allow drilling off the same state that put him in office? Or will Jeb Bush save the day and convince his big brother to oppose Big Oil? Or, as even some Republicans are whispering, is it all a setup, in which drilling will never occur and both Bushes can later be toasted as environmental heroes for having ``stopped'' it?

The governor brushed off the idea that his opposition will underscore his brother's fondness for oil-friendly energy policies. Asked if he would lobby his brother one-on-one, Jeb Bush said: ``I have, but lobbying doesn't mean you're going to be successful.''

Nor, said Jeb Bush, should his opposition to his brother's administration be viewed as the first sign of his own reelection campaign in 2002. ``The whole question of reelection is not why I'm defending this position,'' Bush said.

Moderate Republicans suggest President Bush should forcefully declare his opposition to offshore drilling in Florida and end the controversy.

``It should be a slam dunk. The president should move quickly and decisively,'' said Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Palm Harbor. ``I hope the governor can persuade his brother to see the light on this.''

Latvala points out that the many voters who live closest to those proposed offshore rigs are Republicans who voted for George W. Bush. They live in a string of Panhandle counties -- Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton -- known as the Emerald Coast for their inviting beaches.

Many of those voters will recall that during the presidential campaign, George W. Bush made clear his opposition to offshore drilling. At an October rally at a community college in New Port Richey, George W. Bush told a crowd of 1,000 people: ``I'm going to work with your governor on offshore drilling here in Florida. We're both against it.''

Reminded of his brother's vows, Gov. Bush said: ``I don't think he's breaking a promise.''

He said President Bush's stand is no different than that of former President Bill Clinton: that no area should be considered for exploration unless it was more than 100 miles from Florida's coast.

``We think he is backpedaling,'' said Mark Ferrulo of the Florida Public Interest Research Group. ``He said no new leasing off the coast of Florida. He didn't give a boundary area. The interesting thing is, President Bush and Secretary Norton have espoused a philosophy of states' rights and local decision-making. In this case, when it conflicts with the positions of one of their biggest contributors, it seems to get thrown out the window. That's the hypocrisy we see here.''